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Home , Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Abhay and Rani Bang, Alexandra Braun, Allan Sealy, Alok Mehta, Amiya Kumar Bagchi

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Prithvi II Missile Successfully Testifi ed on November 19, 2006 successfully test-fi red the nuclear-capsule airforce version of the surface-to- surface Prithvi II missile from a defence base in Orissa. It is designed for battlefi eld use agaisnt troops or armoured formations.

India- Relations China’s President Hu Jintao arrived in India on November 20, 2006 on a fourday visit that was aimed at consolidating trade and bilateral cooperation as well as ending years of mistrust between the two Asian giants. Hu, the fi rst Chinese to visit India in than a decade, was received at the airport in New by India’s Foreign Minister Pranab and Science and Technology Minister . The Chinese leader held talks with Indian Prime Minister in Delhi on a range of bilateral issues, including commercial and economic cooperation. The two also reviewed progress in resolving the protracted border dispute between the two countries. After the summit, India and China signed various pacts in areas such as trade, economics, health and education and added “more substance” to their strategic partnership in the context of the evolving global order. India and China signed as many as 13 bilateral agreements in the presence of visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The fi rst three were signed by External Affairs Minister and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. They are:

(1) Protocol on the establishment of Consulates- at Guangzhou and . It provides for an Indian Consulate- General in Guangzhou with its consular district covering seven Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Hainan, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The Chinese Consulate-General in Kolkata will have its consular district covering West , Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and . 2007

(2) Protocol on cooperation between the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. This protocol institutionalizes the bilateral dialogue and consultation mechanism between the two foreign offi ces and provides for

the establishment of a hotline between the two Foreign Ministers. (3) Agreement on the issue of property of the Consulate-General of India in Shanghai. Under this, China shall provide India with a plot measuring 5,000 sq m free of charge for the construction of the premises of the Consulate-General of India,

Manual Shanghai. The plot will be provided to India in lieu of the old Indian consulate property in Shanghai. The signing of the 2007 agreement will bring to a close the issue after 40 years. (4) Agreement on bilateral investment protection and promotion. (5) Memorandum of understanding on inspection of export cargo (iron ore). (6) Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China. (7) Memorandum of understanding between Forward Markets Commission of India and China Securities Regulatory Commission regarding commodity futures regulatory cooperation.

Manual (8) Memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Indian Institute of and the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China. Knowledge

(9) Agreement on forestry cooperation. (10) Memorandum of understanding between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. (11) Exchange programme on cooperation in the field of education. (12) Memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the conservation of cultural heritage. (13) Agreement on preventing theft, clandestine excavation and illicit import and export of cultural property. Knowedge General

UPDATES: Train Blasts 2006 September 21: Government reveals that more than 50 people were involved in the 7/11 train blasts and Azam Chima of LeT was named kingpin behind the blasts. October 7: India tells US about ISI-LeT-SIMI nexus behind 7/11 train blasts. November 30: Maharashtra Police charges 30 people in connection with Mumbai blasts. Concise General

UPDATES: India—US Accord 2006 November 8: Uncertainties over the bill after Democrat Senate and House elected in US mid-term polls. November 16: US Senate passes Indo-US nuclear deal by whopping 85-12 margin. November 30: Rice writes to lawmakers cautioning that Indo-US ties could suffer if problem areas in the House and Pearson Pearson Senate bills are not addressed.

December 6: The reconciliation of House and Senate bills hits a snag as lawmaker John Boehner tries to attach legislations unrelated to India. The The

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December 7: US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns says in that Congress would clear the fi nal bill in 36 hours. House-Senate Conference Committee finalises legislation to implement the deal and sends it to the House of Representatives for approval. December 8: The nuclear bill sails through the fi nal legislative process by a thumping majority of 330 to 59 votes in the House of Representatives. December 9: Passed by unanimous consent in the Senate However, India’s nuclear scientists express concern over the provision in the Act passed by the US Congress to implement Indo-US nuclear deal that seeks to cap India’s right to conduct atomic tests. December 18: Bush signs Indo-US nuclear deal, makes it a law. Indian PM reassures Indian Parliament.

Kidnapping Episode of Anant In a dramatic turn of events, Anant, the three-year-old son of Adobe India Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) Naresh Gupta, abducted from his posh Sector 15 A residence in Noida was recovered from Noida- Bulandshahar border on November 18, 2006. The abducted child was rescued safely following a joint operation by the Noida Police and the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police. Anant was abducted by two motor-cycle borne youths soon after he, along with a maid, left house to board the school bus.

Sachar Committee Report Sachar Committee was appointed by the Prime Minister to evaluate the social, economic and educational status of Muslims. Justice Rajindar Sachar presented the Report of the High Level Committee on Status of Muslims to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on November 17, 2006 which was tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2006. The report called for pathbreaking efforts to include Muslims in the mainstream — efforts that will at once address the inequities experienced at all levels and in all spheres by the community and

eliminate its perception of discrimination. Suggesting the adoption of suitable mechanisms to ensure equity and equality of opportunity to Muslims in residential, work and educational spaces, the fi rst-of-its-kind report makes a strong pitch for making diversity a key feature of public policy. 2007

The report emphasises that these objectives can be achieved only “when the importance of Muslims as an intrinsic part of the diverse Indian social mosaic is squarely recognised.” It recommends the creation of an

Equal Opportunity Commission, modelled on the U.K. Race Relations Act, 1976, to look into the grievances of religious minorities. Following are the recommendations of the Rajindar Sachar Committee report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in the country: Manual

2007 • Setting up an equal opportunity commission (EOC) to look into grievances of deprived groups like minorities.

Working out nomination procedure to increase participation of minorities in public bodies. • Providing legal mechanism to address complaints of discrimination against minorities in matters of employment, housing, schooling and obtaining bank loans. • Establishing a delimitation procedure that does not reserve constituencies with high minority population for SCs. • Initiating and institutionalising a process of evaluating contents of textbooks to purge them of explicit and implicit material that may impart inappropriate social values, especially religious intolerance. Manual

• Creating a National Data Bank where all relevant data for various socioreligious categories are maintained.

Knowledge • Setting up an autonomous assessment and monitoring authority to evaluate the extent of development benefi ts which accrue to different socio-religious categories through various programmes. • Encouraging the University Grants Commission to evolve a system where part of allocation to colleges and universities is linked to diversity in student population. • Facilitating admissions to the most backward amongst all socio-religious categories in regular universities and autonomous colleges and evolving alternate admission criteria. Knowedge General • Designating Arzals Muslim group as most backward classes as they need multifarious measures, including

reservation. • Providing Hindu-OBC-type attention to Ajlaf Muslim group. • Providing fi nancial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and that have growth potential. • Increasing employment share of Muslims, particularly where there is great deal of public dealing. Concise General • Working out mechanisms to link madrassas with higher secondary school board.

• Recognising degrees from madrassas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations. • Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students from minorities on a priority basis. • Promoting and enhancing access of Muslims to priority sectors advances • Including elements in teacher training components that introduce the importance of diversity and plurality and sensitising teachers towards needs and aspirations of Muslims and other marginalised communities. Pearson Pearson • Opening high quality medium schools wherever they are in demand and ensuring high quality textbooks for

students in the Urdu language. • Drawing Muslims on relevant interview panels and boards. The The

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Amendment in AFSPA Addressing a public rally in Manipur at the historic Kangla Fort on December 2, 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the Centre was working on amending the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) to protect human and civil rights. Dr Singh also unveiled the foundation stones for three projects—the City Convention Centre, the Manipur Institute of Technology and the National Sports Academy. However, on December 7, thirty organisations of the Northeast rejected Prime Minister Singh’s offer to amend the Act to make it more humane. They demanded that the Act be repealed and not just amended.

UPDATE: SC on Sealing of Commercial premises in residential areas in Delhi The Supreme Court on November 21, 2006 advised the monitoring committee on sealing to complete random checking of the premises of those traders and professionals who have given applications saying they have stopped misuse of residential areas for commercial purposes. Out of around 25,000 traders who had earlier given undertakings stating they would voluntarily close their shops, about 18,305 have fi led the fresh applications after closing down their establishments. The court, on November 15, 2006 had said it would consider giving some relief to about 25,000 traders who have earlier submitted an affidavit to voluntarily close their shops if they fi led fresh applications stating that they had stopped the misuse of residential premises. The apex court had then asked the monitoring committee to conduct random checks at the premises of those who had given their undertaking, and fi le its report on or before November 20, 2006. Appointment of Sitting High Court Judges in Commissions On November 27, 2006 the SC took strong exception to the appointment of sitting High Court Judges to inquiry commissions, and ordered that they should heading an quasi-judicial bodies except those whose proceedings are at the fag end.

Elections of MLA Disqualified by High Court for Rape On November 24, 2006 the SC upheld the election of legislator Ravikant S. Patil who was disqualified by the state High Court for conviction in a rape case at the time of his election to the assembly.

2007 Taj Corridor Scam On November 27, 2006 the SC quashed a report recommending the closure of prosecution against BSP Leader Mayawati in the Rs. 175 crores Taj Heritage Corridor Scam. Divorced Mother who Remarries can Claim Child Custody The SC on November 21, 2006 held that a divorced woman could claim custody of a minor child even after remarriage for the proper growth and development of the child. Manual 2007 Mullaperiyar Dam Issue On November 27, 2006 the SC permitted storage of water upto 142 feet in the Mullaperiyar Dam and disapproved claims by Govt. that at this height the forests of Idukki distt. will be submerged. The Apex court directed the Chief Minister of Kerala and to resolve the ongoing Mullaperiyar Dam row quickly. PIL Against Ban on Obscene Material in Newspapers Manual

On December 12, 2006 the SC dismissed a PIL which sought a ban on publication of nude and obscene

Knowledge photographs and such other material in newspapers, asserting that fertile imagination, especially that of kids,

cannot be adjudicated in the court of law. Prosecution of Public Servants In a judgement with far reaching consequences, the SC on December 6, 2006 held that no prior sanction was necessary to prosecute public servants, including ministers and others, in corruption cases. Foreigners Order 2006 Knowedge General

The UPA government suffered a major setback with the SC on December 5, 2006 upholding as illegal and unconstitutional Foreigners (Tribunals for ) Order, 2006 that puts the onus on the complainant to prove that the person he has complained about is a foreigner.

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DAIRY OF EVENTS

OCTOBER. 2006 October 21: An army jawan kills three colleagues; wounds two; then shoots himself in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. • An army hawaldar Anil Kumar is arrested while allegedly handing over sensitive defence-related classified documents to a High Commission driver in New Delhi. • Dengue affects nearly 7,000 people across the country; Pearson Pearson

1,665 people afflicted with chikungunya. • BJP legislator and former Minister Kishori Lal Verma, his wife are murdered allegedly by his former employee. October 22: National Security Advisor M K Narayanan says India has “good” evidence of Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence’s involvement in Mumbai train blasts. • An army jawan is arrested at The The

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Indira airport Delhi with sensitive defencerelated documents. • Romanian President Traian Basescu arrives in New Delhi on a three-day visit. October 23: Senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari criticizes Lalu Prasad for “ignoring” Muslims; resigns as party’s national spokesman. October 24: A. K. Antony is appointed new Defence Minister; Pranab Mukherjee assigned External Affairs portfolio in a Cabinet expansion and reshuffle. October 25: One person is seriously injured, one missing in a major fi re at Reliance Industries’ refi nery at Jamnagar. October 26: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says globalisation has given rise to new forms of criminality; more than external aggression, internal security poses serious challenge. • Mumbai police claim four of six accused in July 11 Mumbai train blasts confessed to involvement in incidents. October 27: Days ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Kerala, top offi cials in the state receive an e-mail containing a threat to him and the President. • Banking operations nationwide come to a standstill when over 10 lakh offi cers and employees of public sector banks go on a day’s strike to protest against the proposed outsourcing and the freeze on recruitments. October 28: Indian space agency successfully tests indigenous “cryogenic upper stage” for Geo- Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle at its facility at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. October 29: Reliance Industries launches its retail brand ‘Reliance Fresh’ offering fi eld fresh vegetables, fruits, groceries in Hydrabad. Monday, October 30: Santosh Kumar Singh sentenced to death by Delhi High Court in Priyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case. • Traders begin three- day bandh against MCD’s sealing drive; over 1,500 protestors, including a BJP MP and six MLAs are detained after a clash with police outside Delhi Assembly.• Supreme Court commences hearing in a case to examine scope of judicial review about legislations being putinninth scheduleof the Constitution in New Delhi. • President A P J Abdul Kalam launches ‘one stop education portal’ to address learning-related needs of students. • Poonam Rao,’s daughter, joins BJP Chhatarpur.

NOVEMBER 2006 November 1: Government decides to move Supreme Court to stop sealing of nearly 44,000 business establishments from November 1. • External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee says relations between India and Pakistan would improve if neighbouring country destroys terrorist camps in its territory and takes steps to stop infi ltration. • Police registers cases of sedition and criminal conspiracy in connection with an e-mail threat to President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh. • In the fi rst case under the newly-enforced Domestic Violence law, a government employee is arrested for allegedly torturing his wife at Melapalayam near Tirunelveli • Supreme Court-appointed committee decides not to resume sealing drive from November 2 against shops running illegally in residential areas; no-confi dence motion against the government is defeated by voice-vote. • Senior IAS offi cer Ashok Jha assumes charge as new Finance Secretary in 2007

New Delhi. • Celebrating half a century of their existence as states, Karnataka decides to change anglicised names of several of its cities, including IT hub ; Tamil Nadu hikes pensions for those who fought for its formation; Andhra Pradesh is marred by demand for separate Telangana. • India joins ‘-Pacifi c Partnership on ‘Clean Development and

Climate’. November 2: Government approves construction of 1,000 km of expressways through Public Private Partnership on Build Operate Transfer basis. • All-India Muslim Personal Law Board Vice-President and noted Shia cleric Maulana supports actress ’s remark that as per Quran Muslim women are not bound to cover their faces. • Manual 2007 Supreme Court Monitoring Committee asks MCD to restart sealing of commercial establishments in residential areas of

capital.• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh favours “fair share” for minorities in central and state government and private sector jobs.• TADA court convicts two former customs offi cers and an aide of absconding prime conspirator Tiger Memon in 1993 serial bomb blasts case in Mumbai. • Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh’s ruling BJP wins Vidisha constituency and Bada Malhara assembly seat. • India and Pakistan decide to introduce freight services in Munabao-Khokhrapar rail sector; increase frequency of freight trains between Wagha and Attari to facilitate crossborder movement of goods. • Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt arrives on a six-day visit to New Delhi. November 3: Even as the government grapples with the Manual

problem of increasing fratricidal killings in the armed forces, an armyman, upset at refusal of leave, kills a captain and a

Knowledge junior commissioned offi cer in Manipur before turning his service weapon on himself. • Making yet another move to keep away from resuming the sealing drive, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Government cite prevailing law and order situation in the national capital before the Supreme Court for deferring for some more time. • The Delhi High Court directs all private schools in the national capital to follow recommendations of the Ashok Ganguly Committee for admissions to nursery classes in the coming academic session. • India seeks support of and , members of the (NSG), for civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. Knowedge

General November 4: Navy ex-captain, Capt Salam Singh Rathore, arrested for alleged violation of the Offi cials Secrets Act. • The

indigenous advance light helicopter, Dhruv, is set to attain new heights with a new engine, Shakti. November 9: Cabinet fi nally gives its approval to the Judges (Inquiry) Bill, aimed at amending the 1968 Act to make the inquiries for any alleged misconduct against Supreme Court or High Court judges more “transparent”. November 10: The CBI arrested another former Naval offi cer, Commander J.C Kalra, in connection with the sensational Navy ‘War Room’ leak case for allegedly leaking classifi ed information that affected national security. November 11: President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam asks Gujarat government to consider Concise General

establishment of 300 PURA (providing urban facilities in rural areas) complexes to cover 18,000 villages and encourage reverse migration to rural areas. • Democratic Indira Congress (DIC-K), led by K Karnunakaran, merges with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). November 12: The Sino-Indian special representatives-level talks between National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo cancelled. November 13: UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting failed to reach a consensus on allies’ demand for cut in petroleum products prices, controversial Pension Bill and SEZ issue. November 14: The Mumbai Customs Department called actor Aishwarya Rai for questioning in Pearson Pearson connection with a packet in her name that contained undeclared 23,000 Euros (Rs 13 lakh), received by the foreign post offi

ce here. November 18: President Hamid Karzai says presence of US-led forces in his country has contributed to security of the whole region. • November 19: ‘Prithvi’, sophisticated surface-to-surface medium range missile, is test-fi red The The from integrated test range at Chandipur-on-sea, about 15 km from here.• Afghan President Hamid Karzai is conferred Indira

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Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2005 by President A P J Abdul Kalam. November 20: Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives here on a four-day state visit. November 21: Dubai deports 10 of ’s aides. Several of them wanted in wanted in connection with the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. As many as 13 bilateral agreements were signed between India and China. November 24: India says it is concerned about possible linkages of terrorists to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in its neighbourhood, emphasises need for greater international cooperation to counter the threat. November 26: re-elected BJP President for a three-year term. • India’s 21- year-old beauty Amruta Patki ranked third in the , 2006, pageant held in , , while walked away with the top crown. November 28: The special court set up under the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act to hear the 1993 bomb blasts cases today held actor Sanjay Dutt guilty under the Arms Act for possession an AK-56 assault rifl e and a pistol. November 30: At least three persons were killed and more than 200 injured as rioted across Maharashtra in protest against the desecration of a statue of Dr Ambedkar in Kanpur.

DECEMBER 2006 December 5: A court in the Capital sentences JMM leader and former union minister Shibu Soren to life imprisonment and imposes a fi ne of Rs 5 lakh upon him for his role in the murder of his private secretary Shashinath Jha way back in 1994. • The ruling pushes through a resolution in the UP Assembly recommending amendment to the Constitution to the Centre so as to provide reservation to Muslims and Christians under Article 341. • Large-scale buying by funds took the Sensex past the 14,000-mark to touch 14,028 before it closed lower at 13,937 points, gaining 63 points at close. December 7: The Union Cabinet decides that the creamy layer in other backward castes (OBCs) will not be excluded from the benefi ts of 27% reservation in Central educational institutions; it is decided that a Bill to this effect will be introduced separately. • Tragedy strikes the Asian Games when experienced South Korean equestrian rider, Kim Hyung-Chil, 47, dies after his horse, Bundaberg Black, throws him from the saddle and crushes him. December 9: At least 25 police personnel and fi ve tribal persons are injured in a clash between people and the police at Wangtoo in Kinnaur district. The tribal people had been peacefully protesting against the coming up of the 1000 MW Karcham-Wangtoo Hydro Electricity Power Project for the past many days. December 10: Both the US House of Representatives and the Senate have overwhelmingly

approved legislation that allows the US to engage in nuclear commerce with India. : Sensex plunges 400.06 points to close at 13,399.43 as foreign and domestic funds hammered down banking stocks in the wake of RBI decision to hike the cash reserve ratio by 0.5 per cent last weekend. December 14: The Dalits of Keredagada village in Orissa’s Kendrapara district enter the Lord Jagannath temple of their village on Thursday despite stiff opposition from the caste 2007

Hindus of the area. • The Lok Sabha unanimously passed the bill to extend 27% reservation for the OBCs in Central higher education institutions, barring minority establishments and those located in designated tribal areas. December 15: Former Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police, Rishi Prakash Tyagi, is awarded capital punishment by a city court for torturing two

persons to death in judicial custody. • Chief of General J. J. Singh says that the defence forces would not allow ‘minority’ quota in the defence services. They were against reservation in providing employment, based on socio-economic factors of certain communities. December 17: India and China sign a Memorandum of Understanding for strategic Manual 2007 cooperation in oil exploration and production (E&P) activities in other countries.The MoU was signed by Petroleum Minister

Murli Deora and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China Chairman Ma Kai at Beijing. • A massive dish-shaped antenna with a diameter of 18 metres is erected near Byalalu village, about 40 km from Bangalore, to send commands, receive data and track ISRO’s Chandrayaan-I spacecraft to the moon. • The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) decides to strip the Indian athlete S. Santhi, of the silver medal she had won in the women’s 800 metres in the Asian Games as she had failed a `gender test’ at Doha. December 18: Manu Sharma is convicted by the Delhi High Court for shooting

Manual down ramp mo del Jessica Lall in a crowded restaurant here with his licenced pistol seven years ago. • Railway Minister

Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi are acquitted of all charges in a seven-year-old disproportionate assets case. •

Knowledge Indian Athletics Federation (IAF) states that a panel, possibly of medical experts, would inquire into the gender issue of S. Santhi even as the runner is felicitated by the Tamil Nadu government in . December 28: Trinamool Congress supremo says she may call off her hunger strike following a categorical assurance by the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, on the 25th day of her fast, for reviewing the issue of transfer of a piece of land to Tata Motors at Singur.

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ECONOMY Highlights of Mid-Term Review of Monetary Policy 2006-07 On October. 30, 2006, Dr Y. Venugopal Reddy, Governor-RBI, presented the Mid-term Review of Annual Policy for the Year 2006-07. This Statement consists of two parts: Part I, Review of Annual Statement on Monetary Policy for the Year 2006-07; and Part II, Review of Annual Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies for the Year 2006-07. Highlights: • Repo Rate increased to 7.25 % from 7.0 %. • The fl exibility to conduct overnight repo or longer term repo including the right to accept or reject tender(s) under the LAF, wholly or partially is retained. • Reverse Repo Rate, Bank Rate and CRR kept unchanged. • GDP growth forecast at around 8.0 % during 2006-07. • Infl ation to be contained within 5.0-5.5 % during 2006-07. • Monetary and credit growth expected to be higher than the initial projections. • ‘When issued’ trading to be extended to fresh issues of Central Government securities. • Scheduled commercial banks and primary dealers to be allowed to cover their short positions in Central Government securities within an extended period of fi ve trading days. • Resident individuals would be free to remit up to US$50,000 per financial year as against the earlier limit of US$25,000. • Foreign exchange earners may retain up to 100 % of their foreign exchange earnings in their Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency accounts. • Authorised dealer banks may borrow funds from their overseas branches and correspondent banks (including borrowing for export credit, external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and overdrafts from their Head Office/Nostro

account) up to a limit of 50% of their unimpaired Tier I capital or US$10 million, whichever is higher. • Borrowers eligible for accessing ECBs can avail of an additional US$250 million with average maturity of more than 10 years under the approval route. 2007

• Prepayment of ECB up to US$300 million without prior approval of the Reserve Bank. • Authorised dealer banks may allow remittances on behalf of their customers up to 15% of the average annual sales/income or turnover during the last two fi nancial years or up to 25% of their net worth, whichever is higher, for

initial expenses, and remittances up to 10% of the average annual sales/income or turnover during the last two fi nancial years for recurring expenses. They may also permit remittances for acquisition of immovable property for the overseas offi ce, within these limits. Manual 2007 • The existing limit of US$2 billion on investments in Government securities by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to

be enhanced in phases to US$3.2 billion by March 31, 2007. • The extant ceiling of overseas investment by mutual funds of US$2 billion is enhanced to US$3 billion. • Importers to be permitted to book forward contracts for their customs duty component of imports. • FIIs to be allowed to rebook a part of the cancelled forward contracts. • Forward contracts booked by exporters and importers in excess of 50% of the eligible limit to be on deliverable

Manual basis and cannot be cancelled. • Authorised dealer banks to be permitted to issue guarantees/letters of credit for import of services up to Knowledge

US$100,000 for securing a direct contractual liability arising out of a contract between a resident and a non- resident. • Lock-in period for sale proceeds of the immovable property credited to the NRO account to be eliminated, provided the amount being remitted in any fi nancial year does not exceed US$1 million. • Banks, with approval of their boards, may formulate a transparent policy for providing One Time Settlement facility to those farmers whose accounts have been rescheduled/ restructured due to natural calamities as also those who Knowedge General

have defaulted on account of circumstances beyond their control.

• For opening small accounts, banks need to seek only a photograph of the account holder and self-certifi cation of address. • Indian banks having presence outside India and foreign banks to migrate to the Basel II framework effective March 31, 2008 and other scheduled commercial banks to migrate in alignment but not later than March 31, 2009. • Prudential limit on credit and non-credit facilities to Indian Joint Ventures/Wholly Owned Subsidiaries abroad to be Concise General enhanced to 20% of unimpaired capital funds.

• Financially sound Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) registered in States that have signed MoU with the Reserve Bank and those registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 to be allowed to convert existing extension counters into full-fl edged branches. • Non-banking fi nancial companies (NBFCs) to be allowed to issue cobranded credit cards with banks without risk sharing and to market and distribute mutual fund products. Pearson Pearson

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11th Five Year Plan: Approach Paper The Planning Commission on October 18, 2006 approved the Approach Paper to the Eleventh Plan, which seeks to achieve an increased average GDP growth target of 9% and end the Plan period with a growth of 10%. The highlights of the plan are: • Average GDP growth rate to be 9% and rate of 10% at the towards the end of the plan. • Inflation around 4% • Unemployment around 5% • Literacy around 85% • Women benefi ciary in govt. schemes to rise to around 33%. • Reduction in headcount ratio of poverty by 10% • Increase in forest cover by 5% • Treatment of urban-waste to clean rivers by 2011-12.

UPDATES: Jet Sahara Deal September 21 : Jet Airways claims that it was the lack of government approvals that led to the collapse of the Rs 2300 crore Jet Sahara mega civil-aviation M & A deal. October 9 : A three-bench arbitration tribunal starts hearings in cases pertaining to the collapsed Jet-Sahara takeover deal. November 24 : Air Sahara fi les Rs. 2300 crore claim over Jet Airways for its failed takeover deal. December 4 : Air Sahara begins talks with upcoming low-cost carrier ‘Indus Air’ for a strategic tie-up.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

UPDATE: INDIA – PAKISTAN Bilateral Relations Non-Aligned Movement Summit When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf met the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Havana, Cuba, on September 16, 2006, and said ‘Mohabbat Zindabad’ he indicated a defi nite thawing of tension between the two neighbouring countries. The two leaders met at Protocol House in Havana on the sidelines of the Non- Aligned Movement Summit for one hour and condemned all acts of terrorism. They also issued a joint statement agreeing that the peace process must be maintained and its success was important for both countries and the future of the entire region. The leaders agreed to resume foreign secretary-level talks and have a meet in New Delhi as soon as possible. The joint statement further decided to put in place an India- Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations. Foreign Secretaries meet in Delhi The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met in New Delhi on November 14- 15, 2006. , Foreign Secretary of India led the Indian delegation while the Pakistan delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan. They reviewed the progress in the third round of the Composite Dialogue encompassing talks on peace and pecurity including CBMs; Jammu and Kashmir; Siachen; Wullar Barrage/Tulbal Navigation Project; Sir Creek; terrorism and drug Traffi cking; Economic and commercial cooperation and Promotion of friendly exchanges in various fi elds.

INDIA– PM visits Japan (December 13-December 16, 2006) To raise bilateral relations to a higher level, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese

2007 counterpart Mr Shinzo Abe decided to establish a strategic and global partnership between India and Japan. This will involve closer political and diplomatic coordination on bilateral, regional, multilateral and global issues, comprehensive economic engagement, stronger defence relations, greater technological cooperation as well as working towards a quantum increase in cultural ties, educational linkages and people-to-people contacts.

Notable Foreign Visits by the Indian PM Manual 2007 and (October 09 -October 14, 2006)

South (September 30 -October 03, 2006) and Cuba (September 10 -September 18, 2006) St. Petersburg for Outreach Session of G-8 Summit (July 16 -July 18, 2006) & Uzbekistan (April 22 -April 26, 2006)

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UPDATE: – Crisis Knowledge

UN Peace Plan On August 18, 2006 UN planners laid out a timeline for deploying as many as 15,000 additional reinforcements to its peackeeping force UNIFIL in southern Lebanon to enforce a cease-fi re between Israel and Hezbollah. Some 3,000 Lebanese army troops have crossed south of the strategic Litani River. The timeline which plans 3,500 troops by September 2 and the complete 15,000 contingent by November 4 has been described as highly optimistic. As per UNIFIL commander, French major-general Alain Pellegrini, it could take a year before Knowedge General

the full force can be in the fi eld.

IRAQ: Verdict on Saddam Saddam Hussein has been found guilty on November 5, 2006 of crimes against humanity — for his part in the killing of 148 Shia Muslims in Dujail in 1982 — and sentenced to death by hanging. Six co-defendants were Concise General also convicted. Two of these received death sentences, while another four received jail terms, a seventh was

acquitted due to lack of evidence. Reactions on the verdict The conviction and sentencing to death of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by a special tribunal in Baghdad was celebrated by some as justice deserved, but denounced by others as a political ploy before critical US mid-term congressional elections. The death sentence automatically goes to a nine-judge appeals Pearson Pearson

panel. There’s no time limit, but the appeals process could take as little as three to four weeks once the formal paperwork’s submitted. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days. The The

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SUDAN - Regional War Looming Arab league-mediated peace talks took place on October 31, 2006 in Khartoum, , in a bid to reach a power-sharing deal. The struggle in Somalia between the UN-backed Transitional Government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) threatens to ignite a regional war, drawing in , Eritrea, and Sudan. A new report prepared for the US State Department warns the conflict could involve up to 12 other countries. - Convoy Attack: 90 Killed At least 90 security personnel were killed and another 60 wounded when a powerful truck bomb driven by a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel targeted a naval convoy in the restive northeast of the country on October 16, 2006. The blasts come amid renewed violence in Sri Lanka were seen as factors which could have derailed peace talks in Geneva, . - Nobel Prize To Grameen Banker Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank and its founder have won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. They will share the prize and were cited for their efforts to create economic and social development from below, by using innovative economic programmess such as microcredit lending. - Nobel Literature Prize The Nobel Prize 2006 for Literature has been awarded to Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, quoted him as a writer “who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures”. In 2005, criminal charges were brought against Pamuk after he made a statement regarding the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917 and the massacre of 30,000 Kurds in Anatolia. The charges were dropped in January 2006. He has subsequently stated his intent was to draw attention to freedom of expression issues. The literature prize is worth 10 million kronor (1.37 million US dollars). New Prime Minister

SWEDEN - ’s parliament reconvenes under a new centre-right government. , leader of the New Moderate party, was formally appointed Prime Minister on October 6, 2006. He presented his government’s programme and his cabinet to the . 2007

THAILAND - Military Coup 2006 On September 19, 2006 the Royal Thai Army staged a bloodless coup against the government of caretaker

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, canceling the upcoming elections, suspending the Constitution, dissolving Parliament, banning protests and all political activities, suppressed and censored the media, declared martial law, and arrested Cabinet members. It was ’s first in fifteen years, followed a year-long political crisis Manual 2007

involving Thaksin and political opponents and occurred less than a month before nation-wide House elections

were originally scheduled to be held. New Prime Minister Sworn-in On October 1, 2006 retired General Surayud Chulanont was sworn in as Thailand’s interim prime minister by coup leader General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin in a brief ceremony in the capital, Bangkok. The military also unveiled a short-term constitution under which they will maintain substantial powers until elections promised for Manual

October 2007.

Knowledge UN Meet on Aquaculture India, the second largest aquaculture producer, hosted a major UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) meet on fi sh farming from September 1–5, 2006 attended by representatives from 50 nations. The third meeting of the FAO Sub-Committee on Aquaculture discussed a wide range of issues, including aquaculture’s contribution to fi ghting hunger and poverty, ways to minimize environmental impact of fi sh farming and options for expanding production in the developing world. India’s Agriculture and Food Minister and Knowedge General

Director of FAO’s Fishery Resources Division, Serge Garcia, inaugurated the 5-day meet. A major new FAO report ‘The State of World Aquaculture 2006’ was also released on the occasion. Currently, world aquaculture production is valued at US $63 billion a year. Statistics from the UN food agency show that China is the world’s largest aquaculture producer followed by India. FAO had established the Sub-committee on Aquaculture in 2001 to promote international discussions on the future development of aquaculture. It brings countries together every two years to share information, discuss policy issues related to aquaculture and make Concise General

recommendations to FAO regarding the agency’s work on fi sh farming. International trade in fi sh products (both captured and farmed) is worth over US $71 billion annually, with some 77% of fi sh consumed worldwide being supplied by developing countries. As per FAO statistics, the annual net income of developing countries from this trade runs into more than US $20 billion, which is more than the earnings from any other food commodity, including coffee and tea. Pearson Pearson 4.7 Climate Change Conference

The The

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United Nations held a Climate Change Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, during November 6-17, 2006, at which world powers delibrated to reach a global deal to slash carbon emissions. But any progress on reducing emissions is likely to depend on the expansion of the Clean Development Mechanism - increasing the ways in which the emissions of industrialized nations can be offset by emissions-reducing projects. , which like the US has not signed the Kyoto Protocol, says it will only agree to a new deal if the US, China and India are included. China and India point out that per capita emission rates in developing countries are a tiny fraction of those in the developed world. The Nairobi Conference strived to focus on fi nding a successor to the Kyoto Protocol when its fi rst phase ends in 2012. Under the Protocol, industrialised countries have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide, by 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2008-12, but some major polluters, including the US and Australia, have refused to sign up to the treaty. The Stern Report on Economies of Climate Change The Stern Report on the economics of climate change is published by the UK Treasury. According to the report, climate change could cost the global economy almost US $7 trillion — equal to a 20% fall in growth — if no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Taking action now however could cost just 1% of global GDP. EUROPEAN UNION: Turkey’s Accession The European Commission published a crucial progress report on a Finnish compromise deal on Turkey’s accession preparations. If accepted, the deal could lift an immediate threat to Turkey’s EU entry talks from , which says no more negotiating chapters can be opened unless Ankara meets existing commitments.

OPEC: Cut in Oil Production OPEC ministers held an extraordinary meeting in Qatar on October 10, 2006 to finalise a deal to cut one million barrels from daily output in a bid to halt a slide in prices, which have fallen by 20% since July’s record high of

US $78.40 a barrel. However, the question remains whether the group, which supplies a third of the world’s oil, will cut from its nominal quotas or from current output.

2007

DAIRY OF EVENTS

OCTOBER 2006 October 1: President Luiz Inácio da Silva fails to win a majority in Brazilian presidential election, taking 48.65% of the vote. Manual 2007 He will face Geraldo Alckmin of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party. October 4: Terror Activity Report by the Independent

Monitoring Commission fi nds that the paramilitary activity has been ceased by Irish Republican Army and it has also stopped sponsoring criminal enterprises. October 9: US President George W. Bush calls the explosion of a nuclear device in the mountains of North Korea a “threat to international peace and security.” The Security Council meets to consider sanctions on the country. October 13: Ban Ki-moon’s nomination approved by General Assembly. ’s foreign minister will be the new Secretary General of the UN. His fi ve-year term begins on January 1, 2007. October 17:

Manual Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki fi res two police generals under pressure to control violence that has spiralled out of control. The security forces have been criticized for having been infi ltrated by members of Shiite militias. October 19: Maj. Knowledge

Gen. William Caldwell IV says attacks on US troops have increased and sectarian violence has increased since the deployment of additional troops to the Iraqi capital in August. October 20: City of Amarra brought to stand still by the Mahdi Army, which is connected to Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, and the Badr Organization by destruction of police stations. October 27: News report from Iran says that the country’s ability to enrich uranium has been doubled by a second set of 164 centrifuges in operation. October 29: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva prevails over Geraldo Alckmin, 60.8% to 41.6% in the Brazilian runoff election. October 31: China announces that North Korea has agreed to resume disarmament talks with Knowedge General China, , the US, and South Korea.

NOVEMBER 2006 November 3: Wu Shu-chen, the wife of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-ban, indicted by prosecutors on charges that she spent $450,000 from public funds on personal expenditures. Authorities also say that President Chen submitted fake receipts when drawing from the same fund and lied about how he spent the money. November 5: An Iraqi court convicts Concise General former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein of crimes against humanity and sentences him to death by hanging. An appeal of

the death sentence is automatic. November 7: Military withdraws from Gaza Strip after six-day mission to stop Palestinians from fi ring rockets into Israel. More than 50 Palestinians are killed in the operation and about 30 houses are destroyed. November 8: Israeli artillery kills 18 Palestinians, including eight children and six women, in Gaza. Israel expresses regret and says it was a preventive attack. November 9: Daniel Ortega, the former Marxist president of , is declared the winner of the country’s presidential election.

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DECEMBER 2006 December 10: After years in training and two launch countdowns, became the second woman of Indian origin after Kalpana Chawla to reach the orbit along with six other astronauts on board space shuttle Discovery that blasted The The

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off into the night sky on a 12-day repair mission to the International Space Station. December 14: South Korea’s Ban Ki- moon, sworn in eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations, promised to make his top priority the restoration of trust in the world body, which has been tarnished by corruption scandals. • The death of Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997 was simply a “tragic accident’’ and there was “no conspiracy’’ to murder them, a high-level British inquiry said, categorically dismissing all conspiracy theories that have surrounded the case over the past nine years. • 26 yrs old Jigme Khesar Namgyel wangchuk became fi fth king of Bhutan in Wangchuk dynasty that had come to power in December 1907. December 17: ’s Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and Maoist leaders signed the interim Constitution’s fi nal draft. The constitution has transferred the authorities of the King to the PM but the interim statute does not clearly say whether the Prime Minister will act as the head of the state, or the King has been stripped off the title. December 18: Bush signs the Henry J. Hyde -India Atomic Energy Peaceful Cooperation Act of 2006, permitting civilian nuclear cooperation with India. December 30: Saddam Hussein hanged in Baghdad, for crimes against humanity.

2007

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SPORTS 15th ASIAN GAMES (DOHA 2006) Doha, the capital of Qatar, became the fi rst city in its region and only the second in West Asia since Iran (1974) to hold the Asian games. The 15th Asian Games took place between 1–15 December, 2006. History of Asian Games The fi rst Asian Games took place in New Delhi in 1951 and welcomed 11 countries participating in just six sports. Now, 55 years later, during the 15th Asian Games, 44 countries participated in 39 competitive sports. The Asian Games have come a long way since 1951 to become the second largest sports event in the world after the Olympic Games, comprising half the world’s population. The Indian contingent to Doha returned home with 54 medals including 10 golds as against a total of 36 medals four years ago at Busan Games. Record achievements For the first time, the Asian Games were organized by an Arab country; Previous Asian Games For the first time, 45 countries took part in the Games; 1951 New Delhi, India For the first time, 423 activities were held in the event; 1954 Manila, Philippines For the first time, chess and triathlon were part of the Asian Games; 1958 Tokyo, Japan For the first time, a copyright protection law for the Games was enacted; 1962 Djakarta, For the first time, the Games had a full digital coverage; 1966 Bangkok, Thailand For the first time, the main contests were covered by the advanced HDTV 1970 Bangkok, Thailand system; 1974 Tehran, Iran For the first time, the 15th Asian Games provided more than 2,000 hours of 1978 Bangkok, Thailand

live TV coverage. Facts and Figures 1982 New Delhi, India 1986 Seoul, South Korea 10,500 athletes, administrative offi cials from 45 Asian countries; 1990 Beijing, China

2007 12,000 volunteers for the Games were registered; More than 3,000 1994 Hiroshima, Japan

journalists covered the event, and 1,000 TV channels had 1998 Bangkok, Thailand broadcasting rights of the Games. 2002 Busan, South Korea

Mascot of the Games Doha 2006: Key Points “Orry”, a Qatari Oryx was chosen as the offi cial mascot of the 15th Offi cal mascot ‐ ‘Orry’, the Oryx.

Manual Asian Games. An antelope species, Oryx had become extinct in 1972 Total No. of sports – 39 2007 but has been reintroduced through a rigourous efforts of conservation Total No. of Events – 423

groups. It highlights a spirit of peace, commitment and harmony No. of participating countries – 45 evident in the succesfully held games. World Records set/equaled at Doha 2006 Seven world records were set and equaled during the Doha Asian Games: Shooting: Men’s 25m center fi re pistol -

Manual 590 points (equaled by , India) Women’s 10m air pistol team - 1,161 points (equaled by China) Weightlifting: Women’s 58kg total - 251kg (set by Chen Yanqing, China) Women’s 58kg snatch - 111kg (set by Knowledge Chen Yanqing, China) Women’s 58kg clean and jerk - 140kg (st by Chen Yanqing, China) Women’s 63kg clean and

jerk - 142kg (set by Pawina Thongsuk, Thailand) Women’s over-75kg snatch - 139kg (set by Mu Shuangshuang,China) Most Valuable Player of the Games Swimming sensation Park Tae-Hwan of South Korea was adjudged the Samsung Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 15th Asian Games, a fitting recognition for the Korean teenager’s seven medals - the most Knowedge General

by any athlete at Doha 2006. Indian Gold Came From Athletics (1 medal) Women’s 4x400 Relay [Sati Geetha; Manjeet Kaur; Chitra Kulathummuriyil; Pinki Paramanik] || Chess (2 medals) Women’s Rapid [Humpy Koneru] Mixed Team’s Classical [Humpy Koneru; Sasikiran Krishnan; Harikrishna Pentala] || Cue Sports (1 medal) Men English Billiard- Singles [Pankaj Arjan Advani] || (1 medal) Men [Rakesh Kumar; Pankaj Shirsat; Concise General Naveen Kumar; Gautam Navneet; Sukhvir Singh; Rajeev Kumar Singh; Suresh Kumar; Ramesh Kumar; Manpreet Singh; Gaurav

Shetty; Dinesh Kumar; Vikash Kumar] || Shooting (3 medals) Men’s 25m Centre Fire Pistol [Jaspal Rana] Men’s 25m Standard Pistol [Jaspal Rana] Men’s 25m Centre Fire Pistol Team [Samresh Jung; Vijay Kumar; Jaspal Rana] ||Tennis (2 medals) Men’s Doubles [; ] Mixed Doubles [Leander Paes; ] 2010 Asiad Guangzhou, the southern Chinese city will host the 16th Asian Games in 2010. Guangzhou already has Pearson Pearson

more than 10,000 sports facilities, including more than 50 advanced stadiums and gymnasiums, including the Olympic Sports Centre, Tianhe Sports Centre and the New Guangzhou Gymnasium. The The

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6. ICC 2007 Ninth World Cup It is for the fi rst time in the history of the World Cup that the Cup moves to the West Indies. The 2007 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup will be played during March 11–April 28, 2007.

PEEK INTO THE GROUPS: INDIA IS IN GROUP B Group A Group B Group C Group D St. Kitts & Nevis Trinidad & Tobago Australia (1) Sri Lanka (2) (3) Pakistan (4) (5) India (8) (7) West Indies (6) (12) Bangladesh (11) Kenya (10) (9) The (16) Bermuda (15) (14) Ireland (13) • based on the world ranking as of April 2005 in brackets Event Mascot: Mello Event Logo: It reflects the aspects of the life, resonates with an international audience and encapsulates the spirit of cricket. The positioning of the bat and ball are fi gurative elements of the palm tree forming the trunk and the fruit. The vibrant green of the crown of the palm tree, and the azure blue which stands for the surrounding sky and seas are the backdrop in which this prestigious tournament will take place.

MAJOR CUPS AND TOURNAMENTS

ATHLETICS 46th Open Athletics Championship The 46th Open Athletics Championship was held in New Delhi on October 8, 2006. Railways dominated the event by winning men’s and women’s team championship. Bibu Mathew (Services) and S. Shanthi (Tamil 2007

Nadu) claimed the Best Athletes Trophy.

BADMINTON World Badminton Championship On September 24, 2006 Chinese dominance of the men’s and women’s single event was completed as Manual 2007 Lin Dan defeated Bao Chunlai and Xie Xingfang defeated Zhang Ning in the mens’ and women’s event respectively.

CRICKET DLF Cup, (September. 2006)

Manual Australia beat the West Indies by 127 runs in the final of the DLF cup played at Kinrara Academy, Oval, Kuala Lumpur on September 24, 2006. Australia’s fast bowler Brett Lee was named both the player of the Knowledge

match and player of the series. India, the third team in the tournament, could not make it to the fi nal. India–South Africa ODI Series (November. 2006-January. 2007) India left for South Africa on November 13, 2006 to compete against their formidable hosts in fi ve ODIs and three test matches. The results for the limited overs edition were: 1st ODI- Johannesberg [Match abandoned due to rain] Knowedge General

2nd ODI- Durban [South Africa won by 157 runs] 3rd ODI- [South Africa won by 106 runs] 4th ODI- Port Elizabeth [South Africa won by 80 runs] Only T20I- Johannesberg [India won by 6 wickets] 5th ODI- Centurian [South Africa won by 9 wickets] Concise General Shaun Pollock was named the player of the series.

India won their first ever test match in South Africa in fourteen years when they beat the Proteas in the fi rst test match played at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg by a margin of 123 runs. The much awaited victory came on December 18, 2006. S. Sreesanth was named the player of the match. ASHES 2006-07 Australia regained the Ashes by defeating England in the first three matches of the 2006-07 series. Pearson Pearson

Results: 1st Test – Brisbane, November 23-27, Australia won by 277 runs The The 2nd Test – Adelaide Oval, December 1-5, Australia won by 6 wickets

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3rd Test – Perth, December 14-18, Australia won by 206 runs Shane Warne: Announces retirement; breaks the 700 barrier The legendary leg-spinner from Australia became the first test bowler to claim 700 test wickets when he mopped up England opener Andrew Strauss in the fourth test of the Ashes 2006-07 series at Melbourne. Earlier the leggie announced his retirement from international cricket after the ongoing Ashes series. Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with 674 wickets is the bowler most likely to join Warne in the elite 700 club.

GOLF Augusta National Championship 2006: Phil Mickelson (US). Bell South Classic Golf Championship 2006: Phil Mickelson (US). BMW Championships 2006: David Howell (England). Buick Championship 2006: J.J. Henry (US). GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship 2006: 1. Suk Jongryul (Korea); 2. Bryan Saltus (US) 3. Noh Seung-yul (Korea) and Amandeep Johl (India). KSB Munsingwear Open 2006: Toshinuri Muto (Japan). Philippines Open 2006: Scott Strange (Australia). Quinn Direct British Masters Golf Tournament 2006: Johan Edfors (Sweden). UBS 2006 : Tatshuhiko Takahashi (Japan). US Open 2006: Geoff Ogilvy (Australia); 2. Phil Mickelson (US). 2006: Jeev (India).

Volvo Masters of 2006: On October 30, 2006 of India became the fi rst Asian to win in Europe, lifting the at the Club de Golf Valderrama, San Roque, .

2007 HOCKEY Women’s Hockey World Cup On October 8, 2006 the Netherlands defeated Australia (3-1) in the finals of the Women’s World Cup Hockey played at Madrid, Spain. 11th Hockey World Cup

Manual Germany overcame Australia in the final of the 11th Hockey World Cup played at Monchengladbach 2007 (Germany). Spain clinched the 3rd spot defeating South Korea.

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MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Cabinet Ministers Prime Minister; Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Planning; Atomic Energy; Space; and other ministeries/departments not specifi cally allocated to the charge of any minister: Dr Manmohan Singh Defence: Mr A.K. Antony Foreign Minister of India: Mr Pranab Mukherjee Human Resource Development: Mr Arjun Singh Agriculture; Food and Public Distribution; Consumer Affairs: Mr Sharad Pawar Railways: Mr Lalu Prasad Home Affairs: Mr Shivraj V. Patil Chemicals and Fertilisers; Steel: Mr Urban Development: Mr S. Mines: Mr Finance: Mr P. Chidambaram Small Scale Industries, Agro and Rural Industries: Mr Mahavir Prasad Tribal Affairs; Development of North Eastern Region: Mr P. R. Kyndiah Road Transport and Highways; Shipping: Mr T. R. Baalu Textiles: Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela External Affairs: Mr. Pranab Mukherjee Commerce and Industry: Mr Nath Rural Development: Mr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh

Law and Justice: Mr H. R. Bhardwaj Information and Broadcasting; Parliamentary Affairs: Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunsi Youth Affairs and Sports; Panchayati Raj: Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar

2007 Social Justice and Empowerment: Ms Meira Kumar Environment and Forests: Mr A. Raja Communications and Information Technology: Mr Dayanidhi Maran Health and Family Welfare: Mr Anbumani Ramdoss Labour and Employment: Mr K. Rao Petroleum and Natural Gas: Mr Manual

2007 Power: Mr Shinde

Minority Affairs: Mr A. R. Antulay Overseas Indian Affairs: Mr Vayalar Tourism and Culture: Ms Water Resources: Mr Saifuddin Soz Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises: Mr Santosh Mohan Dev Company Affairs: Mr Prem Chand Gupta Manual

Science and Technology and Ocean Development: Mr Kapil Sibal

Knowledge MINISTERS OF STATE (Independent Charge) Women and Child Development: Ms Renuka Chowdhury Food Processing Industries: Mr Non-Conventional Energy Sources: Mr Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation: Ms Kumari Selja Knowedge General Civil Aviation: Mr

Statistics and Programme Implementation: Mr G. K. Vasan Minister of Labour and Employment: Mr

MINISTERS OF STATE External Affairs: Mr E. Ahammed Concise General

Personnel, Public Grivances and Pensions; Parliamentary Affairs: Mr Suresh Pachauri Chemical and Fertilisers; Parliamentary Affairs: Mr B. K. Handique Health and Family Welfare: Ms Coal: Dr Dasari Rao Communications and Information Technology: Dr Shakeel Ahmad Defence: Mr Rao Inderjit Singh Pearson Pearson Railways: Mr Naranbhai Ratwa

Road Transport and Highways: Mr K. H. Muniyappa Planning: Mr M. V. Rajasekharan The The Agriculture; Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs: Mr Kantilal Bhuria

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Home Affairs: Mr Manikrao Gavit Home Affairs: Mr Shriprakash Jaiswal Prime Minister’s Offi ce: Mr Agriculture; Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs: Mr Taslimuddin Rural Development; Parliamentary Affairs: Ms Suryakanta Patil Human Resource Development: Mr Md. Ali Ashraf Fatmi Rural Development: Mr Chandra Sekhar Sabu Railways: Mr R. Velu Finance (Revenue Deptt.): Mr S. S. Palanimanickam Home Affairs: Mr S. Regupathy Law and Justice: Mr K. Venkatapathy Social Justice and Empowerment: Ms Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan Textiles: Mr E. V. K. S. Elangovan Heavy Industries: Ms Kanti Singh Environment and Forests: Mr Agriculture; Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs: Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh Finance: Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal External Affairs: Mr Sharma Urban Development: Mr Ajay Maken Steel: Mr Akhilesh Das Defence: Mr M. M. Pallam Raju Labour: Mr Oscar Fernandes Industries: Mr Ashwani Kumar Human Resource Development: Ms D. Purandareshwari Petroleum: Mr Dinshaw Patel Mines: Mr T. Subbarami Reddy

Commerce: Mr

2007 CHIEFS OF ARMED FORCES

Supreme Commander: President Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee: Admiral

Chief of the Army Staff: General J. J. Singh Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral Chief of the Air Staff: Air Chief Marshal S. P. Tyagi

Manual Commander-in-Chief, : Air Marshal Avinash Devdutt Joshi 2007 Chief of Integrated Defence Staff: Vice-Admiral Raman Puri

HEADS - JUDICIARY : K. G. Balakrishnan Attorney General of India: Mr Milon Kumar Banerjee Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT): Mr Justice Ashok Agarwal Manual

Solicitor-General of India: Mr Goolam E. Vahanvati

Knowledge Additional Solicitor-General of India: Mr B. Dutta Additional Solicitor-General: Mr Gopal Subramaniam

CAPITALS, GOVERNORS AND CHIEF MINISTERS OF STATES

States Capitals Governors Chief Ministers Knowedge General

1. Andhra Pradesh Mr Reddy Dr Y. S. Rajasekhar 2. Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar Mr S. K. Singh Mr Gegong Apang 3. Assam Dispur Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Ajai Singh Mr 4. Bihar Patna Mr R. S. Gavai Mr Nitish Kumar 5. Chhattisgarh Raipur Lt. Gen. (Retd.) KM Seth Dr Raman Singh 6. Panaji Mr S. C. Jameer Mr Pratap Singh Rane Concise General 7. Gujarat Gandhinagar Mr Navalkishore Sharma Mr

8. Dr A. R. Kidwai Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda 9. Shimla Mr Justice (Retd.) VS Kokje Mr Virbhadra Singh 10. Jammu and Kashmir Srinagar (Summer) Lt. Gen. (Retd.) SK Sinha Mr Gulam Nabi Azad Jammu (Winter) 11. Jharkhand Ranchi Mr Syed Sibtey Razi Mr Koda Pearson Pearson 12. Karnataka Bangalore Mr T. N. Chaturvedi Mr H. D. Kumaraswamy

13. Kerala Thrivananthaouram Mr R. L. Bhatia Mr V. S. Achuthanandan 14. Madhya Pradesh Bhopal Mr Balram Jhakar Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan 15. Maharashtra Mumbai Mr S. M. Mr The The

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16. Manipur Imphal Dr Shivinder Singh Sidhu Mr Okram Ibobi Singh 17. Meghalaya Shillong Mr M. M. Jacob Mr J. D. Rymbai 18. Aizawl Lt. Gen. (Retd.) MM Lakhera Mr Zoramthanga 19. Nagaland Kohima Mr Shyamal Dutta Mr Neiphiu Rio 20. Orissa Bhubaneshwar Mr Rameshwar Thakur Mr 21. Punjab Chandigarh Gen. (Retd.) Captain S. F. Rodrigues Singh 22. Jaipur Ms Ms Vasundhara Raje 23. Sikkim Gangtok Mr V. Rao Mr Pawan Chamling 24. Tamil Nadu Chennai Mr S. S. Barnala Mr M. Karunanidhi 25. Tripura Agartala Mr Dinesh Nandan Mr Manik Sarkar Sahaya 26. Uttaranchal Mr Sudharshan Aggarwal Mr N. D. Tiwari 27. Uttar Pradesh Mr T. V. Rajeshwar Rao Mr 28. Kolkata Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya

CAPITAL, LT. GOVERNOR AND CHIEF MINISTER OF NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY National Capital Capital Lt. Governor Chief Minister Territory 1. Delhi Delhi Mr B. L. Joshi Ms Sheila Dikshit CAPITALS, LT. GOVERNORS/ADMINISTRATORS AND CHIEFcMINISTERS OF UTs Union Territories Capitals Lt. Governors Administrator / Chief Minister 1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Port Blair Lt. Gen (Retd.) M.M. Lakhera 2. Chandigarh Chandigarh Gen. (Retd.) S. F. Rodrigues 3. Dadra and Nagar Haveli Silvassa Mr Rajni Kant Verma 4. Daman and Diu Daman Mr Rajni Kant Verma

5. Lakshadweep Kavaratti Mr 6. Puducherry Puducherry Lt. Gen (Retd.) Mr N. Rangaswamy/ M.M. Lakhera

2007 HEADS OF IMPORTANT OFFICES Chairman, : Mr B. S. Shekhawat Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha: Mr K. Rahman Khan Speaker, Lok Sabha: Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Atwal Chairman, Planning Commission: Dr Manmohan Singh Manual

2007 Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission: Dr

Chairman, BJP Parliamentary party: Mr A. B. Vajpayee Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha): Mr L. K. Advani Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha): Mr Chief Election Commissioner: Mr N. Gopalaswamy Election Commissioner: Mr Navin B. Chawla Comptroller and Auditor General of India: Mr V. N. Kaul Manual

Cabinet Secretary: Mr B. K. Chaturvedi

Knowledge Principal Secretary to P. M: Mr T. K. A. Nair Secretary, Inter-state council: Mr Kamal Pande Chairman, National Commission for Minorities: Mr Chairman, National Commission for Backward Classes: Mr Justice S. Ratnavel Pandian Chairman, National Commission for Schedule Castes: Mr Suraj Bhan Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes: Mr Kanwar Singh Chairman, UPSC: Mr Gurbachan Jagat Knowedge General

Chairman, MRTPC: Justice C. N. Nayar Chairman National Commission for Farmers: Dr M. S. Swaminathan National Security Adviser and Special Adviser to PM (Internal Security): Mr M. K. Narayanan Deputy National Security Advisor: Mr Vijay Nambiar Advisor to Finance Minister: Mr Parthasarthi Shome Chairman, Railway Board: Mr J. P. Batra Concise General Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha: Dr Yogendra Narain

Secretary-General, Lok Sabha: Mr P. D. T. Achary Director, IB: Mr E. S. Lakshmi Narasimhan Director, CBI: Mr Director, Research and Analysis Wing: Mr P. K. H. Tharakan Director-General CRPF: Mr J. K. Sinha Pearson Pearson Director-General, BSF: Mr Ashish Kumar Mitra

Director-General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF): Mr S.I.S. Ahmed Director-General, Railway Protection Force: Mr A. K. Suri Director-General, ITBP: Mr V. K. Joshi The The

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Director-General Coast Guard: Vice-Admiral Rustom Faramroze Director-General, Defence Agency: Lt. Gen. Avtar Singh Principal Scientifi c Advisor to the Government: Dr R. Chidambaram Chairman, UGC: Mr Scientifi c Advisor to Defence Minister and Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organisation: Mr M. Natarajan Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO: Mr G. Madhavan Nair. Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Dept. of Atomic Energy: Mr Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India: Mr Nripendra Misra Chairman, SSC: Mr B. K. Chairman, Telecom Commission: Mr Anil Kumar Chairman, National Human Rights Commission: Mr Justice (Retd.) A. S. Anand Chairman, National Forest Commission: Mr Justice (Retd.) B. N. Kirpal Chairperson, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB): Dr Amrita Patel Director-General, Border Roads Organisation: Lt. Gen. K. S. Rao Director General, India Council of Medical Research: Dr Nirmal Kumar Ganguly Chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board: Mr R. S. S. L. N. Bhaskardu Chairman, Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises: Mr Prahlad Basu Registrar-General of India and Census Commissioner: Mr D. K. Sikri. President National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission: Mr Justice M. B. Shah Chairman, Law Commission: Mr Justice M. Jagannadha Rao Governor, RBI: Mr Y. V. Reddy Chairman, National Commission on Labor: Mr Ravindra Varma. Chairman, Press Council of India: Mr Justice G. N. Ray Director, Press Institute of India: Mr Arun Chacko

Chairperson, Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC): Ms Chairman, United News of India: Mr Sonthalia President, Indian Newspaper Society: Mr Hormusji Nusserwanji Cama

2007 Chairman, PTI: Mr R. Lakshmipathy

Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority: Mr C. S. Rao Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT): Ms M. H. Kherawala Chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs: Mr V. P. Singh. Chairman, SAIL: Mr Sushil Kumar Roongta CMD, NHPC: Mr S. K. Garg Manual 2007

CMD, ONGC:Mr R.S. Sharma

CMD, GAIL:Mr S.P. Rao Chairman, IOC: Mr S. Behuria Director-General, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade: Mr Parbir Sengupta. CMD, Oil India. Ltd.: Mr M. R. Pasrija Chairman, CBSE: Mr Ashok Ganguly. Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India: Mr M. Damodaran Manual

Chairman, NABARD: Mr Y. S. P. Throat

Knowledge Chairman, SBI: Mr O. P. Bhat Chairman, UTI Asset Management Company: Mr U. K. Sinha Chairman, IDBI: Mr V. P. Shetty Chairman, LIC: Mr T. S. Vijayan Chairman, Company Law Board: Justice Ajay Kumar Banerji President, National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA): Mr Vatsayayan India’s Permanent Representative to UN: Mr Nirupam Sen Knowedge General

India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to WTO: Mr K. M. Chandrasekhar Director-General, CSIR and Chairman, Patent Law Panel: Dr R. A. Mashelkar Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research: Dr Mangla Rai Chairman, MTNL: Mr R. S. P. Sinha Chairman, Central Water Commission: Mr R. Jeyasheelan Chairperson, National Commission for Women: Ms Concise General

Chairman, 12th : Dr C. Rangarajan. Chairman, National Statistical Commission: Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar Director-General, Forests: Mr J. C. Kala Chairman, Central Pollution control Board (CPCB): Mr V. Rajagopalan Chairperson, Central Board of Film Certifi cation: Ms Chairperson, Children’s Film Society of India: Ms Nafi sa Ali Pearson Pearson Director-General, Archeological Survey of India: Mr C. Babu Rajeev

Director, Enforcement Directorate: Mr S. S. Dawra Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority: Mr D. Swarup The The Central Vigilance Commissioner: Mr Pratyush Sinha

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre: Mr S. Banerjee Director-General, NCC: Lt. Gen. M. C. Bhandari Chief Information Commissioner: Mr Wajahat Habibullah Chairman, National Highway Authority of India: Mr Pradeep Kumar Chairperson, Central Social Welfare Board: Ms Rajani Patil President, Indian Olympic Association: Mr Suresh Kalmadi Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU: Prof. H. P. Dixit Director, NCERT: Prof. Krishan Kumar Presidetn, CII: Mr Y. C. Deveshwar President, FICCI: Mr Saroj Kumar Poddar Chiarman, National Knowledge Commission: Mr Director-General, : Mr Naveen Kumar Director-General, AIR: Mr T. R. Malakar Chairman, Prasar Bharti Board: Mr M. V. Kamath CEO, Pasar Bharti: Mr K. S. Sarma Chairman, Investment Commission: Mr President, NASSCOM: Mr Ramalinga Raju. President, ASSOCHAM: Mr Anil K. Agarwal Chairman, National Film Development Corporation: Mr Manmohan Shetty Director, Film & Telivision Institute of India (FTII): Mr Tripurari Sharan CMD, Air-India: Mr V. Thulasidas CMD, Indian: Mr V. Trivedi CMD, BHEL: Mr A. K. Puri Chairman, : Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha President, ICCR: Dr Chairperson, ICHR: Prof. D. N. Tripathi

Chairperson, ICSSR: Mr Chairperson, ICRIER: Dr Ishar J. Ahluwalia Chairman, Board of Trade: Mr Kumarmangalam Birla

2007 Chairman, GIC: Mr K. K. Srinivasan

HEADS OF STATE: WORLD Afghanistan: President – Hamid Karzai; Capital – Kabul. : President – Alfred Moisui; Prime Minister – Fatos Nano; Capital – Tirana.

Manual Algeria: President – Abdelaziz Boutefl ika; Prime Minister – Ahmed Ouyahia; Capital – Algiers. 2007 : President – Nestor Carlos Kirchner; Capital – Buenos Aires. Australia: Governor-General–Michael Jeffery; P. Minister–John Winston Howard; Capital(Federal)–Canberra. : President – Thomas Klestil; Chancellor – Wolfgang Schussel; Capital–Vienna. : King; - Hamad ibn al- Khalifah; P. Minister – Sheikh Khalifah Sulman al-Khalifah; Capital –Manama. Bangladesh: Presiden –Iajuddin Ahmed; P. Minister–Begum ; Capital–Dhaka. : President–Alexander Lukashenko; Prime Minister–SergeiSidorsky; Capital–Minsk

Manual Belgium: King- Albert II; Prime Minister–Guy Verhofstadt; Capital–Brussels. Bhutan: King–Jigme Singye Wangchuk; Captial–Thimphu Knowledge

Bolivia: President–Evo Morales; Capital– La Paz. Brazil: President–Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; Capital-Brasilia. : Persident–Georgi Purvanov; Prime Minister–SimeonII; Capital–Sofi a. Burkina Faso: President–Blaise Compaore; P. Minister – Paramanga Ernest; Yonli; Capital – Ouagadougou. : King–Norodom Sihamoni; 1st P.Minister-Ung Huot; 2ndP.Minister – Hun Sen; Capital–Phnom Penh. Canada: Governor- General – Ms Michaelle Jean; Prime Minister – Stephen Harper; Capital – Ottawa. Knowedge General Chile: President – Ms Michelle Bachelet; Capital – Santiago.

China: President – Hu Jintao; Prime Minister – Wen Jaibao; Capital – Beijing. : President – Alvaro Uribe Velez; Capital – Bogota. : President – Stipe Mesic; Prime Minister– Dr Ivo Sanader; Capital – Zagreb. Cuba: President – Fidel Castro Ruz; Capital – Havana. : President – Valav Klaus; Prime Minister–Jiri Paroubek; Capital – Prague. Concise General : Queen – Margrethe II.; Prime Minister – Andres Fogh Rasmussen; Capital Copenhagen.

East Timor: President – Xanana Gusmao; Prime Minister – Jose Ramos-Horta; Capital-Dili : President – Honsi Mubarak; Prime Minister–Ahmed Najief; Capital–Cairo EI Salvador: President – Francisco Flores Perez; Capital –San Salvador. Ethiopia: President – Girma Woldegyiorgis; Prime Minister–Meles Zenawi; Capital–Addis Ababa. Fiji: President – Ratu Josefa Iloilo; Prime Minister – Laisenia Qarase; Capital – Suva. Finland: President – Ms Tarja Halonen; Capital – Helsinki. Pearson Pearson

France: President – Jacques Chirac; Prime Minister – Dominique de Villepin; Capital – Paris. Gabon: President – Omar Bongo Ondimba; Prime Minister- Jean Eyeghe Ndong; Capital – Libreville. Germany: President – Horst Koehler; Chancellor – Ms Angela Merkel; Capital – . The The

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

Guyana: President – Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister – Samuel ; Capital – Georgetown. : President – Constantinos Stephanopoulos; Prime Minister – Costas Simitis; Capital – Athens. : President – Rene Preval; Prime Minister – Gerard Latortue; Capital – Portau- Prince. : President – Manuel Zelaya; Capital – Tegucigalpa. Hungary: President – Ference Madl; Prime Minister – Peter Medgyessy; Capital – Budapest. Indonesia: President – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; Capital – Jakarta. Iran: President – Mahmood Ahmadinejad; Capital – Teheran. : President – Jalal Talabani; Prime Minister – Nuri al- Maliki; Capital – Baghdad. Ireland: President – Ms Mary Mc Aleese; Prime Minister – Bertie Ahern; Capital – Dublin. Israel: President–Moshe Katzav; P.Minister–Ariel Sharon; Acting P.Minister–Ehud Olmert; Capital–Jerusalem. : President – Georgio Napolitano; Prime Minister – Romano Prodi;Capital – Rome. Japan: President – Emperor – Akihito; Prime Minister – Shinzo Abe; Capital – Tokyo. : King – Abdullah II; Prime Minister–Faisal al Fayez; Capital–Amman. : President – Nursultan A. Nazarbayev; Prime Minister – Danyal Akhmetov; Capital – Astana. Kenya: President – Mwai Kibaki; Capital – Nairobi. Korea, North: President – Marshal Kim Jong II; Prime Minister – Hong Song Nam; Capital – Pyongyang. Korea, South: President – Roh Moo- hyun; Capital – Seoul. : Emir – Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad al-Sabah; Capital – Kuwait. Kyrgyzstan: President – (Interim) – Kurmanbek Bakiyev; Capital – Bishkek. Laos: President – Gen. Khamtay Siphandon; Prime Minister – Gen. Boungnang Vorachith; Capital – Vientiane. : President – Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf; Capital – Monrovia. Madagascar: President – Marc Ravalomanana; Prime Minister- Jacques Sylla; Capital – Antananarivo. : President – Bingu wa Mutharika; Capital – Lilongwe. Malaysia: King–Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail; P.M.- Abdullah Ahmad Badawi; Capital – Kuala Lampur. Maldives: President – Maumoon Abdul Gayoom; Capital – Male. : President – Karl A. Offmann; Prime Minister – Navinchandra Ramgoolam; Capital – Prot Louis.

Mexico: President – Vicente Fox Quesada; Capital – City. : President – Nambaryn Enkhbayar; Prime Minister Miyeegombo Enkhbold; Capital – Ulan Bator. : President-Filip Vujanovic: Prime Minister- Milo Dukanovic: Capital-Podgorica

2007 : King – Mohammed VI; Prime Minister – Driss Jettou; Capital – Rabat.

Myanmar (Burma): Head of Govt. Gen Than Shwe; Capital – Nyapidaw. : President – Sam Nujoma; Prime Minister Theo – Ben Gurirab; Capital – Windhoek. Nepal: King – Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev; Prime Minister – Girija Prasad Koirala; Capital – Kathmandu. Netherlands: Queen – Beatrix; Prime Minister – Jan Peter Balkenende; Capital – Amsterdam. New Zealand: Governor- General – Anand Satyanand; Prime Minister –Ms Clark; Capital – Wellington. Manual 2007

Niger: President – Tandja Mamodou; Prime Minister – Hama Amadou, Capital – Niamey

Nigeria: President – Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo; Capital – Abuja. : King – Harald V; Prime Minister – Jens Stoltenberg; Capital – Oslo. Pakistan: President – Gen. Pervez Musharraf; Prime Minister – Mr Shukat Aziz; Capital – Islamabad. : President – Mr Martin Torrijos; Capital – Panama City. : President – Luis Solari; Prime Minister – Luis Solari; Capital – Lima. Philippines: President – Ms Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; Capital – Manila. Manual

Poland: President – Lech Kaczynski; Prime Minister –Jaroslaw Kaczynski; Capital – .

Knowledge : President – Jorge Sampio; Prime Minister – Jose Socrates; Capital – Lisbon. : President – Traian Basecue; Capital – Bucharest. Russia: President – ; Prime Minister – Mikhail Fradkov; Capital – Moscow. Rwanda: President – Paul Kagame; Capital Kagali. Saudi Arabia: King – Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud; Capital – Riyadh. : Union President – Vojislv Kosyunica; Capital – Belgrade. Sierra Leone: President – Ahmed Tejan Kabbah; Capital – Freetown. Knowedge General

Singapore: President – S. R. Nathan; PM – Lee Hsien Loong; Capital – . : President – Ivan Gasparovic; Prime Minister – Mikulas Dzurinda; Capital – Bratislava. South Africa: President – Thabo M. Mbeki; Capital– Cape town (Legislative) and Tshwane (Formerly Pretoria) (Admn.) Spain: King – Juan Carlos I; Prime Minister – Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatevo; Capital – Madrid. Sri Lanka: Exe.Pres.–Mahinda Rajapakse; P.M.–Ratansiri Wickermanayake; Capital–Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (Colombo). Sudan: President – Omar Hassan Ahmad al – Bashir; Capital – Khartoum. Concise General

Sweden: King – Carl XVI Gustaf; Prime Minister – Fredrik Reinfeldt; Capital – . Switzerland: President – Moritz Leuenberger; Capital – Berne. Syria: President – Bashar Al-Assad; PM- Muhammad Najial – Otari; Capital – Damascus. Taiwan: President – Chen Shui-bian; Prime Minister – Su Tseng –chang; Capital – Taipei. :President–Emomali Rakhmonov; PM–Akil Akilov; Capital–Dushanbe. : President – Benjamin William Mkapa; Prime Minister – Frederick Tulway Sumaye; Capital – Dodoma. Pearson Pearson Thailand: King – Bhumibol Adulyadej; Capital – Bangkok.

Trinidad and Tobago: President – George Maxwell Richards; Prime Minister – Patrick Manning; Capital – Port of Spain. Tunisia: President – Zine El Abidine Ben Ali; Prime Minister – Mohamed Ghannouchi; Capital – Tunis. The The Turkey: President – Ahmet Necdet Sezer; PM – Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Capital – Ankara.

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

Turkmenistan: President – Saparmurad Niyozov; Capital Ashgabat. : President – Victor Yushchenko; Capital – Kiev. : Prime Minister- Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid Al – Maktoum; Capital – Abu Dhabi. United Kingdom: Queen- Elizabeth II; Prime Minister – Tony Blair; Capital – . United States of America: Pres.–George W. Bush; Secy. of State – Dr ; Capital – Washington, D.C. Uzbekistan: President – A. Karimov; Prime Minister – Shavkat Mirziyayev; Capital – Tashkent. Vanuatu: President – Kolkokt Mahashelekel; Prime Minister – Ham Livi; Capital – Vila. : President – Hugo Chavez Frias; Capital – . : President – Nguyen Minh Triet; Prime Minister – Nguyen Tan Dung; Capital- Hanoi. : President – Levy Patrick Mwanawasa; Prime Minister – General M. N. Masheke; Capital – Lusaka. Zimbabwe: Executive President – Robert G. Mugabe; Capital – Harare.

HEADS OF IMPORTANT OFFICES Secretary – General, United Nations Organisation: Bon-Ki-Moon First Deputy Secretary – General, UN: Ms Luise Frechette Military Advisor to UN Dept. of Peace-keeping Operations: Major Gen. Randhir Mehta President, (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development): Paul Wolfowitz Vice-President, Borld Bank: Shigeo Katsu Managing Director, International Monetary Fund: Rodrigo Rato Director-General, UNESCO: Koichiro Matsuura Director-General, WHO: Dr Margaret Chan Director-General, Fod and Agricultural Organisation (FAO): Jacques Diouf Director–General, International Labour Organisation (ILO): Juan Somavia Executive Director, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF):Ann M. Veneman.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees:Antonio Guterres Executive Director United Nations International Children’s emergency Fund (UNICEF): Ms Carol Bellamy UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Antonio Manuel Olivera 2007

Director-General, United Nationas Development Programme (UNDP): Mark M. Brown Secretary–General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): Dr Supachi Panitchpakdi

Secretary– General, Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): Angel Gurria President, International Court of Justice: Rosalyn Higgins President, : Haruhiko Kuroda

Manual President, : Donald Kaberuka. 2007 President, International Olympic Committee: Jacques Rogge Secretary- General, Commonwealth: Don Mc Kinnon Director-General, WTO: Pascal Lamy Chairman, African Union: Prof. Alpha Oumar Konar Chairman, UN Human Rights Commission: Najat Al- Hajjaji President, International Cricket Council:

Manual Secretary-General, African Union: Amara Essy High Commission for Human Rights: Louise Arbour Knowledge

President, International Cricket Council: Mr . Chairman, Non Aligned Movement: Adbullah Ahmad Badawi President, European Commission: Jose Manuel Durao Barroso Deputy Director General, WTO: Harshvardhana Singh Director General, UNIDO:Kandeh K. Yumkella Secretary-General, Gulf Co-operation Council: Jammel Al Hujilan Knowedge General Secretary-General, Organisation of Islamic Conference: Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

Secretary-General, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries: Alvaro Silve Calderon Chairman, Organisaton of American States: Cesar Gaviria Trajilo President, South-West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO): Sam Nujoma Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Dr Mohamed ElBaradei Secretary-General, NATO: Jaap de hoop Scheffer Concise General Director, Commonwealth of Learning: Dr Abdul Waheed Khan

Chairman, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: Hashim Abdul Halim Executive Director, UNFPA: Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid Secretary-General, ASEAN: Ong Keng Yong Secretary-General, SAARC: Q A. M. A . Rahim Editor-in-Chief, Reuters: Mark Wood President, International Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF): Lamine Diack Pearson Pearson

Chief of NASA (USA): Michael Griffin Secretary-General, Amnesty International: Irene Zubaida Khan

The The

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

Persons in the News

Amitabh Bachchan honoured the Superstar with an honorary doctorate on November 4, 2006. The honouris causa degree was awarded for his contribution to the Indian film industry. Andre Agassi He bid farewell to tennis at the US Open on September 3, retiring after losing to German qualifi er Benjamin Becker. The 36-year-old tennis legend is one of only five men to win all four Grand Slam tournaments. Augusto Pinochet Chile’s former military leader died on December 10, 2006 in hospital aged 91. Even in his death he continues to divide Chile. His supporters argue that he “saved Chile for democracy”, while the opponents say he used brutal force to impose order on the country, in a reign of terror that saw more than 3000 Chileans killed. Ban Ki-moon The South Korean foreign minister has become the fi rst Asian in more than 30 years to be elected secretary general of the United Nations. He takes over from Kofi Annan in January 2007. Kiran Desai The youngest woman writer to win the Man Booker prize for her novel The Inheritance of Loss (2006). She is the daughter of celebrated writer mother, . Lakshmi Nivas Mittal Ranked as the wealthiest Indian by Forbes magazine in its billionaires’ list of 2006, he was in news for his strategic acquisition of Arcelor, the steel company in Luxemburg. Navjot Singh Sidhu Navjot Singh Sidhu, former cricketer, and a BJP MP from , was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment in the 1988 roadrage murder case.

2007 Sunita Lyn Williams

Sunita becomes the second Indian woman to be selected by US space agency NASA for a space programme. As a part of a seven member crew, Sunita served as flight engineer on Expedition 14.

Tenzin Gyatso The 14th Dalai Lama was awared the highest US civilian honour, the Congressional Gold Medal, in recognition

Manual of his enduring and outstanding contribution to peace, non-violence and human rights. 2007 The former Chairman of NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) was appointed as the first Chancellor of the University of Allahabad for a term of five years.

Manual

Knowledge

Knowedge General

Concise General

Pearson Pearson

The The

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AWARDS AND HONOURS National Awards

13th National Award: Former President Mr K.R. Naraynan 22nd and 23rd Ramkrishna Jaidayal Harmony Awards: Mr Somnath Chatterjee. 38th Jnanpith Award 2005: (Marathi poet) Moharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman: Ajay Kumar Mishra for his works in language. 51st Filmfare Awards: Best Actor- (Black); Best Actress- Mukerjee (Black); Best Film– (Black); Best Director- (Black); Best Performance in a Negative Role- (Apaharan); Best Actor in a Comic Role- (Garam Masala); Best Supporting Actor-Abhishek Bachchan (Sarkar); Best Supporting Actress-Ayesha Kapoor (Black); Best Debut (Male)-Shiney Ahuja– Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi; Best Debut (Female)-–Parineeta; Best Playback Singer (Male)-Himesh Reshammiya-Aashiq Banaya Aapne (Aashiq Banaya Aapne); Best Playback Singer (Female)-Alisha Chinai- Kajra Re (Bunty Aur Babli); Best Music-Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Bunty Aur Babli); Best Choreography-Howard Rosemeyer-Kaisi Paheli Hai (Parineeta); Best Lyrics- – Kajra Re (Bunty Aur Babli); Critics Award- Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Sanjay Leela Bhansali(Black); Filmfare PowerAward-Yash Chopa and Aditya Chopra; Lifetime Achievement Award-Shabana Azmi; Fair One Face Of The Year-Vidya Balan (Parineeta); R.D. Burman Award-; Best Cinematography-Ravi K. Chandran (Black); Best Background Score-Monty (Black); Best Editing-Bela Sehgal (Black); Best Sound Design-Bishwadeep Chatterjee (Parineeta); Best Art Direction-Keshto Mondal, Tanushree Sarkar and Pradeep Sarkar (Parineeta);Best Screenplay-Nina Arora and Manoj Tyagi (Page 3); Best Dialogue-Prakash Jha (Apaharan); Best Story-Shiv Kumar Subramanium, Ruchi Narainand (Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi); Best Action-Allan Amin (Dus). 93rd Award: Dr D.S. Paroda, DG of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). AIMA Awards: Life Time Achievement Award for Management-Mr V.Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National

2007 Manufacturing Competitiveness Council; The Public Service Excellence Award-Mr K. J. Rao, Adviser, Election

Commission of India; The Tata Corporate Leadership Award-Mr K. V. Kamath, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank. Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, 2006: Pioneering, Maxico and Tanzania won fi rst prize.

ANOC Merit Award: General-Secretary of the Indian Olympic Association Randhir Singh for his outstanding contribution to Asian Sports.

Manual Appan Menon Memorial Award 2005: Ms M. Suchitra for her proposal ‘Socio-Economic Impact of the 2007 Proliferation of Special Economic Zones in India’, particularly on women workers. Ati Winners: (25) included Major General Arun Roye, Major General Deepak Anand, Major General Darshanjit Singh Grewal, Major General Vijay Kumar Singh, Major General Amarjeet Singh Sekhon, Rear Admiral , Air Vice Marshal Keshava Murthy Rama Sundara, Air Vice Marshal Rakesh Yadav and retired Commodore T.H. Ram.

Manual Award for Environmental conservation and Pollution Control: Mr Ashok K. Puri, chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Knowledge

BM Birla Science Prize:, Programme Director (Biotechnology) at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in the fi eld of Biology.

British Academy Film (BAFTA) Awards 2006 Academy Fellowship: Lord Puttnam;The Michael Balcon Award; for Outstanding British Contribution to

Knowedge Cinema: Robert (Chuck) Finch and Bill Merrell; Film: Brokeback Mountain – Diana Ossana/James Schamus; General

The Alexander Korda Award for the Outstanding British Film of the Year : Allace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit – Claire Jennings/David Sproxton/Nick Park/Steve Box/Mark Burton/BobBaker; The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film: Joe Wright (Director) – Pride & Prejudice; The David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction: Brokeback Mountain – Ang Lee; Oriiginal Screenplay: Crash – Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco; Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain – Concise General Larry McMurtry/Diana OssanaFilm Not In The English Language: De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté (The Beat

That My Heart Skipped) – Pascal Caucheteux/Jacques Audiard ; Actor In A Leading Role – Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote ; Actress In A Leading Role – Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line; Actor In A Supporting Role – Jake Gyllenhaal – Brokeback Mountain ;Actress In A Supporting Role – Thandie Newton – Crash The Anthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music – Memoirs Of A Geisha – John William; Cinematography – Memoirs Of A Geisha – Dion Beebe; Editing – The Constant Gardener – Claire Simpson; Pearson Pearson

The Orange Rising Star Award: James McAvoy. B.P. Pal Centenary Award: Agriclture scientist Dr M.S. Swaminathan. Bharat Jyoti Award: Raj Kumari Gupta of the Department of Education at Punjab University on April 7. The The

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

Bharatiya Shiromani Puraskar: Gandhian and former US Ambassador, Mr Phillips Talbot for his outstanding service to the cause of the promotion of Indo-US relations. Bhartendu Award: Outlook Saptahik Editor for his book ‘Patrakarita ki Lakshman ’. Bhoruka Awards: “Ujala Chandi”. CCI Global Leadership Awards, 2006: Heart Surgeon Dr Devi Prasad Shetty and educationist Dr Abraham Ebenezer. CSIR (Council of Scientifi c and Industrial Research) Awards, 2006 Sharuti Swarup Bhatnagar prizes for excellence: Dr Vinod Bhakumi, Dr Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale, Dr Gufram- Ullah Beig, Dr Pulak Sengupta, Dr Atish Dabholkar, Dr , Dr Virender Singh Sangwan, Dr Srinivasan Sampath, Dr K. George Thomas, Dr Ashish Lele, Dr Sanjay Mittal, Dr Vikaraman Balaji and Dr Indramil Biswas. Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development: Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai Country Head Award, 2005-06: Dr Manmohan Singh receiving for his contribution to humanitarian causes and betterment of society. D.N. Agarwal Memorial Award 2005: Mr Nirmal Guha, the grand old man of the Indian ceramic industry. Dada Sahab Phalke Award 2005:Mr Millennium Award 2005: Subir Raha, C&MD ONGC. Defence Minister’s Awards for Excellence, 2003-04: A.K. Baweja Chairman, HAL for developing software for mission computers. D. N. Agarwal Memorial Award 2005: Nirmal Guha. Dr Nayudamma Award: Mr Sam Pitroda, Chairman of National Knowledge Commission and architect of India’s telecom revolution. Dr B. C. Roy National Award 2005: Eminent Medical Person;Dr S.H. Advani (Mumbai),Dr Naresh Trechan (New Delhi); Oration:Dr K. Sasjdharan (Manipal); Eminent Medical Teacher;Dr T. P. Raghava Bharadwaj (Chennai), Dr (Mrs.) P. (Chennai), Dr Pankaj M. shah (), Dr (New Delhi), Dr (New Delhi);Development of Specialities-Dr Tejas M. Patel (Ahmedabad), Dr N. K. 2007

Pandey (Faridabad), Dr C. Palanivelu (Coimbatore),Dr Subir Chaterjee. Socio Medical Relief-Dr K.K. Agarwal, Dr S.M. Balaji(Channai); Dr Vinay Agarwal(Delhi); Dr N.S. Shekhawat(Jaipur).

DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award, 2006: N. Sitaram, Director of Centre for Artifi cial Intelligence and Robotics; W. Selvamurthy Chief Controller, Research and Development (Life Science HR), New Delhi and Avinash Chander, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad. Manual

2007 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2006: Mr Kumar Manglam Birla ().

Economic Times Award for Corporate Excellence 2006: Company of the Year: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS); Emerging Company of the Year: Amtek Auto; Business Women of the Year: ; Entrepreneur of the Year: H.K. Mittal; Business Leader of the Year: Mukesh Ambani; Global Indian of the Year Award: Indra Noorji; Business Reform-P. Chidambram, Policy Change Agent: Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia; Corporate Citizen: Mr ; Lifetime Achievement Award: N. Vaghul.

Manual 2006 Awards: Miss India Universe – Miss. Neha Kapoor: Miss India World – Miss. Natasha Suri: Miss. India Earth –Miss Amrita Patki. Knowledge

Gandhi Peace Prize, 2006 Ms Shabana Azmi Gallantry Awards 2006: The Param Vishisht Seva Medal winners (17) included Lt. General Arvind Sharma, Vice AdmiralArun Kumar Singh, Air Marshal Avinash Deodatta Joshi, Air Marshal Avdesh Kumar Singh, Lt.General and Lt. General Ramji Rai. The (first woman to reach the rank of Air Marshal in the ), Lt.Generalal Aditya Singh and Lt.General Kulwant Singh Dogra Knowedge General were awarded Bar to .

G. D. Birla Award for Scientifi c Research 2006: Prof. . Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance 2006: Barclays PLC Harish Mahindra Memorial Global Award for Corporate Social Respondisbility: Mr Toro Hasegawa of Yamaha Motor Co. Homi J. Bhabha Memorial (ISCA) Award 2004: Prof. P. K. Iyengar Concise General

Hutch Crossword Award 2005: Dil-o-Danish, a book written by Ms and translated into The Heart Has Its Reasons in English by Reema Anand and Meenakshi Swami of Katha. IIFA Awards 2006: Best Picture – Black; Direction – Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Black; Performance in a Leading Role (Male)– Amitabh Bachchan (Black); Performance in a Leading Role (Female) –Rani Mukherjee (Black); Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)– Abhishek Bachchan (Sarkar); Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)– Ayesha Kapoor (Black); Performance in Comic Role– Javed Jaffery (Salaam Namaste); Pearson Pearson

Performance in a Negative Role– Nana Patekar (Apaharan); Music Direction– Shankar Ehsaan Loy (Bunty Aur Babli); Best Story– Nagesh Kukunoor (Iqbal); Lyrics– Gulzar (Kajra Re); Playback Singer (Male)– Himesh The The Reshammiya (Aashiq Banaya Aapne); Playback Singer (Female)– Alisha Chinai (Kajra Re). Special Awards-

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

The lifetime contribution to Cinema Awards-K.K. Mahajan (Cinematographer); (Actress); O.P. Dutta (Writer-Producer-Director); IDEA Glamorous Star Award-Preity Zinta; IDEA Creative Person Award- Nagesh Kuknoor and Pradeep Sarkar (Director); IDEA Award for Innovation- (Animation Film); Best Story Award- Iqbal (Nagesh Kuknoor); Outstanding achievement by an Indian in International Cinema-Ashok Amritraj (Hollywood Producer); Star TV Best Debut (Female)- Vidya Balan (Parineeta); Star TV Best Debut (Male); Shiney Ahuja (Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi); Best Choreographer-Vaibhavi Merchant (Kajra Re);Tiara Biggest Entertainer of the year-No Entry; Technical Award; Best Editor’s Award- BelaSehgal (Black); Best Sound Recording-Anup Dev (Black); Best Background Score-Monty Sharma (Black). Indian Science Award 2004: Prof. CNR Rao for his pioneering contribution to solid state and materials chemistry. 93rd ISC General President’s Science Excellence Awards;Prof. , Prof. M.S. Swaminathan and Swiss Nobel Prize for Chemistry winner Richard R. Ernst. Asutosh Mookherjee Memorial Award; Director-General of the Council for Scientifi c and Industrial Research (CSIR), Mr R.A. Mashelkar. Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration 2005: for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2005: Hamid Karzai (President of Afghanistan) Indu Sharma Katha Samman: Author Asghar Wajahat for the novel Kaisee Aagi Lagal. INS Homi J. Bhabha Lifetime Achievement Award: V.K. Sharma (for his role as principal designer of India’s fi rst 540-MWe pressurized heavy water reactor(PHWR)-based power plant. INS Industrial Excellence Award for 2004-05: BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.) for its role in the development and manfacture of nuclear equipment for power plants and research centres. Jamanalal Bajaj Awards 2006: Dr Rani Abhay Bang (Search organisation of Gadchiroli distt of Maharashtra); Dr S.N. Subba Rao (Director National Youth Projects); Dr (Uttranchal); and Dr (Director, Bibko Theca Alexandrina of Egypt). Award 2006: Mr Shahid Mahuli for his contribution to the Urdu language 2007

Kalpana Chawla Excellence Awards 2006: Shahnaz Husain (herbal beauty care expert); Anuradha Prasad(Managing Director of B.A.G. Films Ltd.), Indu Puri (National Table Tennis Champion), Uma Vasudev

(Writer), (ClassicalSinger); (Mountaineer) and (Educationist). L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science (2006) Fellowship: Ms Ruchi Singh first Indian woman selected for her Manual

2007 work on drug sensitivity and the gene expression of the parasite Leishmania Donovani.

LA Philharmonic Lifetime Achievement Award: Actor and maestro . National Award 2006: Dr , cardio-vascular surgeon and Executive Director of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, for excellence in Public Administration and Management Sciences for 2006. Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award: Famous choreographer and dancer Ms .

Manual Loknayak National Award 2005: Sawai Singh, activist and president of Rajasthan Samagra Seva Sangh. Knowledge

M. P. Birla Memorial Award 2005: Professor Venkataraman Radha-krishnan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore. M.B. Vyas Samman: Mr Ajay Kumar Mishra for his commendable work in Sanskrit language and literature. Maharashtra Bhushan: Industralist Mr Ratan Tata. Mark H. Mc’Cormack Award (2005): Star American golf player Tiger Woods. Knowedge General Millitary Roll of Honours Presented: 12 Param Vishisht Seva Medals (PVSM); 4 Kirti Chakras; 27 Ati Vishisht

Seva Medals (AVSMs) and 19 Shaurya Chakras. Mrs. India World 2006: Mrs. Arti Thakur, a fi tness trainer from Mumbai (Maharashtra). National Bal Shree Awards, 2006: 22 children from different parts of the country, in recognition of their creative excellence in various fi elds, in New Delhi on May 15, 2006. National Bravery Awards 2006: Presented to 17 children on January 24, 2006; The Bharat Award– Ratal Concise General

Rabha and Rituparna Boro (Assam); Geeta Chopra Award – Seidalyne Mawtyllup (Meghalaya); Sanjay Chopra – Sanmesh Mahesh Kalyanpur (Maharashtra). National Communal Harmony Award: Sarvodaya activist . National Kalidas Samman 2006: , Dancer. National Kishore Kumar and Awards, 2005-06: Film Director Mr and Playback singer Ms Kavita Krishnamurthy. Pearson Pearson

National Leadership Awards: Chairman and chief mentor of Infosys, Mr N.R. Narayanan Murthy. The other awardees were Prof. C.N.R. Rao for science and technology and Mr for community service and The The social uplift.

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Netaji Award 2006: Shyam Benegal; Sachin Khedekar, and late Col. Habib-ur-Rehman. New India Book Prize 2005: The Promise of the Metropolis Bangalore’s Twentieth Century by Janaki Nair. Nirmal Gram Puraskars: 770 panchayati raj institutions (including 761 gram panchayats and nine block panchayats from 14 States of the country). Prize: ’s imprisoned pro-democracy leader . Outstanding Diplomat of the the Year: Mr Yang Linhai, Cultural Counsellor of Embassy of China. Padma Awards 2006 (some of the notable Padma Awardees 2005 are listed here): J. N. Dixit, Karan Singh, Milon Kumar Banerji, , R. K. Laxman, M. V. S. Valiathan, Andre Beteile, Azim Premji, GV Ramakrishna, G. C.Saxena, , Kiran Majumdar Shaw, MT VasudevanNair, Romila Thapar, , , V.S.Ramamurthy. , , , G. Bakthavatsalam, Gladys Staines, Kavitha Krishnamurti, , K. S. Chitra, , , , , Major S. Rathore, Sharukh Khan, Bhartia. 2006: A.K. Hangal (Maharashtra)Art; Ustad (Maharashtra)Art; (Maharashtra)Trade and Industry; (Karnataka) Social Work; (Delhi) Literature and Education; Dusan Zbavitel (Czech Republic) Literature and Education; (West Bengal) Social Work; Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan (Maharashtra) Art; Gregory Maximovich Bongard-Levin (Russia) Literature and Education; Gunter Kruger (Posthumous) (Maharashtra) Trade and Industry; Shri Hira Lall Sibal (Chandigarh) Public Affairs; (Tamil Nadu) Medicine; Air Commodore Jasjit Singh (Haryana) Defence Services; KG Subramanyam (West Bengal) Art; Prasad Saxena (Delhi) Literature and Education; Kewal Kishan Talwar (Chandigarh) Medicine; (Andhra Pradesh) Art; KPP Nambiar (Karnataka) Science and Engineering; (Delhi) Literature and Education; (Maharashtra) Science and Engineering; M.V. Pylee (Kerala) Literature and Education; NS Ramaswamy (Karnataka) Social Work; Nandan M Nilekani (Karnataka) Science and Engineering; P. Leela (Posthumous) (Tamil Nadu) Art; P. P Rao (Uttar Pradesh) Public Affairs; P.S Appu (Karnataka) Civil Service; (Orissa) Literature and Education; S. Ramadorai (Maharashtra) Trade and Industry; Ustad (Delhi) Art; (Maharashtra) Art; Shanno Khurana (Delhi) 2007

Art; (Delhi) Public Affairs; Tarun Das (Haryana) Trade and Industry; V. Shanta (Tamil Nadu) Medicine; (Rajasthan) Literature and Education; (Maharashtra) Sports.

Padma Shri 2006: Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud (Qatar) Public Affairs; (Delhi) Literature & Education; Dr Anil Prakash Joshi (Uttaranchal) Social Work; Aribam Shyam Sharma (Manipur) Art Bahadur Singh (Punjab) Sports; Dr Bhuvaraghan Palaniappan (Tamil Nadu) Medicine; Billy (Uttar Manual

2007 Pradesh) Wildlife Conservation; Dr Bonbehari Vishnu Nimbkar (Maharashtra)Science & Engineering; Dr

Devappagowda Chinnaiah (Karnataka) Medicine; Fatma Rafi q Zakaria (Maharashtra) Literature & Education; Gayatri Sankaran (Tamil Nadu) Art; Dr Ghanashyam Mishra (Orissa) Medicine; Prof. Hakim Syed Zillur Rehman (Uttar Pradesh) Medicine; Dr Rissam (Delhi) Medicine; Swami Hari Govind Maharaj (Uttar Pradesh) Art; Dr Gupta (Andhra Pradesh) Science & Engineering; Dr Ilena Citaristi (Orissa) Art; J.N. Chaudhry (Delhi) Civil Service; Prof. (Dr.) (Delhi) Medicine;

Manual (Delhi) Art; Kashmiri Lal Zakir (Chandigarh) Literature and Education; Kavungal Chatunni Panicker (Kerala) Art; Dr (Mizoram) Literature &Education; Dr Lothar Lutze (Germany) Literature & Knowledge

Education; (Delhi) Sports; (Delhi) Art; Mangte Chungneijang (Manipur) Sports; Mehmood Dhaulpuri (Delhi) Art; Dr Mehmooda Ali Shah (Jammu & Kashmir); Literature & Education; Melhupra Vero (Nagaland) Social Work; Prof. (Dr.) (Tamil Nadu) Medicine; (Arunachal Pradesh) Sports; (Delhi) Journalism; Prof. Narendra Kumar (Karnataka) Science & Engineering; P.S. Bedi (Delhi) Social Work; ((Maharashtra) Art; Prasad Knowedge General Sawkar (Goa) Art; Dr R. Balasubramanian (Tamil Nadu) Science and Engineering; Rajendra Kumar Saboo

(Chandigarh) Social Work; Ustad (West Bengal) Art; Sania Mirza (Andhra Pradesh) Sports; Dr (Delhi) Medicine; Dr Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain (Andhra Pradesh) Science & Engineering; Shahnaz Husain (Delhi)Trade & Industry; Shobana Chandrakumar (Tamil Nadu) Art; (Rajasthan) Art; Guru Shyama Charan Pati (Jharkhand) Art; Prof. (Gujarat) Literature & Education; (Maharashtra) Journalism; Sudha Murthy (Karnataka) Social Work; Sister Sudha Concise General

Varghese (Bihar) Social Work; (Kerala) Literature & Education; Suresh Krishna (Tamil Nadu) Trade & Industry; (Haryana) Art; Dr Suwalal Chhaganmal Bafna (Maharashtra) Social Work; Dr Swaminathan Sivaram (Maharashtra) Science & Engineering; Dr Tehemton Erach Udwadia (Maharashtra) Medicine; Dr Tsering Landol (Jammu and Kashmir) Medicine; Prof. (Dr.) (Delhi) Medicine; Vasundhra Komkali (Madhya Pradesh) Art; (Uttaranchal) Art. 2006: Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Kerala) Arts; C.R. Krishnaswamy Rao (Tamil Nadu) Civil Pearson Pearson

Service; (Maharashtra) Science & Engineering; Mahashweta Devi (West Bengal) Literature and The The

WEB COMPANION – developed for The Pearson Education 2007 G.K. Books (Sep. – Dec. 2006)

Education; (Delhi) Social Work; Norman E. Borlaug (Mexico) Science and Engineering; Obaid Siddiqui (Karnataka) Science and Engineering; Prakash Narain Tandon (Delhi) Medicine; Justice V.N. Khare (Uttar Pradesh) Public Affairs. Padmanand Sahitya Samman: Screen Writer Govind Sharma for his book ‘Hindi Cinema-Patkatha Lekhan’. PLM Excellence Award, 2006: Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL). Pravasi Bharatiya Awards 2006: 15th Non- Resident Indians(NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs); Shivnath Rai Bajaj(Thailand), Eliahu Bezale (Israel); Pratima Kale (The Philipines); Dr Majid Uddin Kazi (Saudi Arabia; C.K. Menon (Qatar); Abdool Raouf Bundhun (Mauritius; Sir Gulam Kaderbhai Noon (England); Dr Sudhir Parikh (USA); Yesu Persaud (); Dr V. Ramadoss (Seychelles; Sisupal Rambharose (South Africa); (Niranjan S. Shah (USA); Russy M. Shroff (); Jean-Paul irapoule (Reunion Island); (Editor of Newsweek magazine). Prem Bhatia Journalism Award 2006: Ms Navika Kumar, journalist with The Time Of India group. Priyadarshini 2005: N. R. Narayana Murthy (Infosys) and Subir Raha (former Chariman ONGC) for the Priyadarshini Academy awards for their outstanding contribution to the IT sector. Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards 2005-06: Journalist of the Year (Broadcast):Ms Barkha Dutt, Managing Editor of NDTV 24x7; Journalist of the Year (Print): Mr Praveen Swami, Deputy Editor and Delhi Chief of Bureau of Frontline along with Mr Varghese K. George, Special Correspondent of . Sahitya Academy Awards Assamese: Mouna Ounth Mukhar Hriday (Novel) by Yeshe Dorje Thongchi; Bengali Haspatale Lekha Kabitaguchha (Poetry) by Binoy Mazumdar; Bodo: Jiuni Mwgthang Bisombi Arw Aroj (Poetry) by Mangalsingh Hazowary; Dogri: Dhaldi Dhuppe Da Sek (Short Stories) by Krishan Sharma; Gujarati: Akhand Zalar Vage (Poetry) by Suresh Dalal; Hindi: Kyap (Novel) by Manohar Shyam Joshi; Kannada: Teru (Novel) by Raghavendra Patil; Kashmiri: Yath Miani Joye (Poetry) by Hamidi Kashmiri; Konkani: Bhaangarsaall (Short Stories) by N. Shivdas; Maithali: Chanan Ghan Gachchiya (Poetry) by Vivekanand Thakur; : Jappana Pukayila (Short Stories) by G. V. ; Manipuri: Pangal Shonbi Eishe Adomgeeni (Short Stories) by M. Nabakishore Singh; Marathi: Bhijaki Vahi (Poetry) by (late) Arun Kolatkar; Nepali: Jeevan Goreto Ma (Novel) by Krishna Singh Moktan; Oriya: Gopapura (Short Stories) 2007

by Ramachandra Behera; Punjabi: Agni-Kalas (Short Stories) by Gurbachan Singh Bhullar; Rajasthani: Kisturi Mirag (Short Stories) by Chetan Swami; Sanskrit: Sri-Bhargava-Raghaviyam (Epic) by Swami

Rambhadracharya; Santhali: Bhabna (Poetry) by Jadumani Besra; Sindhi: Andhero Roshan Thiye (Poetry) by Dholan ‘Rahi’; Tamil: Kalmaram (Novel) by G. Thilakavathi; Telgu: Tana Margam (Short Stories) by Abburi Chayadevi; Urdu: Ret Per Khema (Memoirs) by Jabir Husain. Sahitya Shiromani Samman: Lyricist Gulzar. Manual

2007 Sahitya Translation Prize: Kannada writer Janardana Hegde for his translation of S. L. Bhyrappa’s novel

‘Dharmasri’. Sangeet Natak Akademic Awards: Punjabi playwright Ajmer Singh Aulakh, Haryanvi folk theatre artiste Daryao Singh Malik, Kathakali exponent Mathoor Govindankutty, violin maestro V.V. Subramaniyam and player Ongole N. Rangaiah Different Catagories: Dance: R. Rhadha (Bharatnatyam: Tirath Ram Azad (; Mathoor Govindan Kutty (kathakali); K, Radhamohan Sharma (Manipuri); Korada Narasimha

Manual Rao (Kuchipudi); (Creative and experimental dance); and Josyula Krishna Murthy (Kuchipudi yakshaganamridangam). Music: S. C. R. Bhat (Hindustani music vocal); Ramashrey Jha Knowledge

(Hindustani music vocal); Brijbhushanlal Kabra (Hindustani instrumental music guitar); Vasant Borkar (Hindustani instrumental music harmonium); S.V. parthasarathy (Carnatic music vocal); P. S. Narayanaswamy (Carnatic music vocal); Ongole N. Rangaiah (Carnatic instrumental music nadaswaram); and V.V. Subrahmanyam (Carnatic instrumental music violin). 2005: K. Ayyappa Panicker (75), renowned Malayalam Scholar and Poet, for outstanding Knowedge General literary work in an Indian language.

Shell Helen Keller Award 2005: Fr. Valeriano Vaz, Director of Caritas Goa. TERI Awards: Usha Martin Ltd. Lever Ltd. Solaris Chemtech Ltd. Sakthi Masala Private Ltd. Macpro Heavy Engineering Ltd., Madras Aluminium Company Ltd., Siagareni Collisies and Northern Coalfi elds Ltd. TSR Awards, 2006: National Integration Awards: (Posthumously), Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar; Lifetime Achivement Awards: Sharmila Tagore and Anjali Devi. Concise General

The winner: Wing Commander Alagaraja Perumal; Ishwar Singh; Squadron Leader Sushil Vijay Sansare and Squadron Leader P. R. S. Panickar. It was posthumously awarded to Havildar Rathwa Gordhan Bhai Kalji Bhai (posthumously); Naik Rameshan J. Sanjai Kumar, Sukumar Sharma, Christapher F. Laxman Singh and Vikram Singh; Havildar Chandra Bahadur Gurung and Major Salman Ahmad Khan. The Woman of the Year Award 2005-06: Ms , Chairperson and Managing Director of the Rajshree Group of Companies. Pearson Pearson

UCLA’s Spacer Tracy Award: Morgan Free man. Udhyog Rattan Award 2005: S.K. Garg, CMD of NHPC. The The UNDP Award: Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Funds has won the World Business Award.

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Vachaspati Puraskar 2005: Sanskrit scholar Acharya Ramyatna Shukla’s treatise Vyakarandarshane Srishitikriyavimarshah. Vyas Samman 2006: ‘Kavita ka Arthaat’ (Meaning of Poetry) by Prof. Parmanand Srivastava. Woman Exemplar Awards: Ms Sangeeta Pardhe of (Maharashtra), Ms Raj Rani of (Haryana) and Ms Vanita Jalinder Pise of Satara (Maharashtra), in recognition of their exemplary work in the Duenas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave); Prix d’interpretation masculine (Best Actor): Ensemble male cast of “Indigenes” by Rachid Bouchareb (Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Bernard Blancan); Court-Metrage (short fi lm): Palme d’Or (short fi lm): “Sniffer” by Bobby Peers; Prix Du Jury: “Premiera Nieve” by Pablo Aguero; Special Mention: “Conte de quartier” by Florence Miaihe. Award, 2005—Pankaj Advani (Billiards and Snooker) Awards, 2006—Uday K. Prabhu (Athletics); Commander Nandy Singh (Hockey); Harish Chandra M. Birajdar (Wrestling) Arjuna Awards, 2005— (Archery); Ms Dola Banerjee (Archery); Ms Manjit Kaur (Athletics); Ms Aparna Popat (Badminton); Ms Anuja Prakash Thakur (Billiards and Snooker); Akhil Kumar (Boxing); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Chess); Ms Anju Jain (Cricket); Viren Rasquinha (Hockey); Shri Ramesh Kumar (Kabaddi); (Shooting); Ms Shikha Tandon (Swimming); Soumyadeep Roy (Table Tennis); Sushil Kumar (Wrestling); Rajinder Singh Rahelu (Physically Handicapped) Dronacharya Awards for 2005 Captain M. Venu (Boxing); Balwan Singh (Kabaddi); Maha Singh Rao (Wrestling); Shri Ismail Baig (Rowing)

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS ‘Enterpreneur of the Year’ (E&Y) Award 2005 : C.P. Jain, CMD of NTPC

73rd Annual Academy Awards (Oscar Awards 2006): Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: George Clooney, Syriana; Achievements in Visual Effects: King Kong, Joe Letter, Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor; Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the 2007

Were-Rabbit, Nick Park and Steve Box; Best Live Action Short Film : Six Shooter, Martin McDonagh; Best Animated Short Film: The Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation, John Canemaker and Peggy Stern;

Achievement in Makeup: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Howard Berger and Tami Lane; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Rachel Weisz The Constant Gardener; Best Documentary Feature: March of the Penguins, Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau; Achievement in Art Manual 2007

Direction : Memoirs of A Geisha, John Myhre; Gretchen Rau (Set Decoration) Achievement in Sound Mixing:

King Kong, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek; Achievement in Sound Editing: King Kong, Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn; Best Foreign Language Film: Tsotsi, South Africa; Achievement in Film Editing: Crash Hughes Winborne; Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Philip Seymour Hoffman Capote; Achievement in Cinematography: Memoirs of A Geisha, Dion Beebe; Performance by an Actress in Leading Role: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line; Original Screenplay: Crash,

Manual Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco; Story by Paul Haggis; Achievement in Direction: Brokeback Mountain, Ang

Knowledge Lee; Best Motion Picture of the Year: Crash, Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman. Asian Achievers Awards 2005: Laxmi Niwas Mittal for his exceptional accomplishments in the global steel industry. Asian Excellence Awards: , Indian born fi lm-maker (posthumously). AFI Annual Lifetime Achievement Award: Hollywood actor Sean Connery Borlaug Medallian 2006 (by World Food Prize): Ving Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand) Knowedge General Bernardo O’ Higgins Order: Mr Siddarth Vardarajan, deputy editor of .

Cannes Film Festival Awards 2006: Palme d’Or: The Wind That Shakes The Barley by Ken Loach; Grand Prix: Flanders by Bruno Dumont; Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarrit u for Babel; Best Screenplay Award: Pedro Almodovar for Volver; Jury Prize: Red Road by Andrea Arnold; Best Actor: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila and Bernard Blancan for Indigenes; Best Actress: Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola DueF1as, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo and Chus Lampreave for Volver; Palme d’ Or – Concise General

Short Film: Sniffer by Bobbie Peers; Jury Prize – Short Film: Primera Nieve by Pablo Aguero; Short Film Special Distinction: Conte De Quartier by Florence Miailhe CEAT Awards: International Cricketer of the Year- (Australia); Best International Debutant- Michael Hussey (Australia; Best Wicketkeeper of the year-Adam Gilchrist (Australia); Best Bowler of the Year- Shane Warne (Australia); Domestic Cricketer of the year-Ramesh Power; Best Batsman of the Year-S. Pearson Pearson Badrinath (Tamil Nadu); Best Bowler and Most Promising Youngster; Praveen Kumar.

Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour): Fr. Cedric Prakash, Director of Prashant, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace. The The

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Congressional Gold Medal: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th D alai Lama for contributions to peace, non-violence and human rights. David Dixon Award: Indian Sharpshooter, Samaresh Jung. the Best Athlete. Dylan Award 2006: Ms Rachel Trezise (for Lee Collection of Short Stories– Fresh Apples) First Blooker Prize: Ms Julie Powel of New York (USA) for book Julie and Julia : 365 Days, 524 Receipes, 1 Tiny Kitchen Apartment. Frost and Sullivan Asia-Pacifi c ICT Awards, 2006: Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Televentures Limited, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal has been adjudged ‘CEO’ of the year. Global Diversity Award 2005: Aishwarya Rai, for being a real international symbol for diversity. Golden Kinnaree Award 2005: Deepa Mehta, Canada-based Indian film-maker for her film ‘Water’. The award was presented at the Bangkok International Film Festival. Golden Pen of Freedom Award: Akbar Ganji, a prominent Iranian dissident and investigative reporter in Moscow. Grammy Awards 2006: Album of the Year: “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, U2; Record of the Year: “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, Green Day; New Artist: John Legend; Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Ordinary People”, John Legend; Pop Vocal Album: “Breakaway”, Kelly Clarkson; Song of the Year: “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own”, U2; Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Since U Been Gone”, Kelly Clarkson; Country Album: “Lonely Runs Both Ways”, Alison Krauss and Union Station; Rap Album: “Late Registration”, Kanye West; Rock Album: “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, U2; Rap Song: “Diamonds From Sierra Leone”, D. Harris and Kanye West; Hard Rock Performance: “B.Y.O.B.”, System of a Down; Metal Performance: “Before I Forget”, Slipknot; Alternative Music Album: “Get Behind Me Satan”, The White Stripes; Male Pop Vocal Performance: “From the Bottom of My Heart”, Stevie Wonder; Pop Instrumental Performance: “Caravan”, Les Paul; Classical Album: “Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of Experience”, Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Christine Brewer and Joan Morris, University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra); Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: “Believe”, Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri, songwriters from “The Polar Express”; Traditional World Music Album: “In the Heart of the Moon”, Ali Farka 2007

Toure and Toumani Diabate; Contemporary World Music Album: “Eletracustico”, Gilberto Gil; Musical Album for Children: “Songs From the Neighborhood—The Music of Mister Rogers”, Various Artists; Comedy Album:

“Never Scared”, Chris Rock. Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize, 2005: Mr Abdoulaye Abdoulaye Wade, the President of Senegal for his contributionto democracy in his country and for his mediation in political cirses and confl icts in Africa. Manual

2007 Harry Chapin Media Awards-2005: Book-Hungry: What the world Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D’aluisi

Planet; Broadcast-North Carolina Voices; Newspaper- Harsha Medicine series by Paul von Zielbaner (The New York Times); Photo Jorunalism-Horror in by Francine Orr (Los Angels Times); Judges Award; Newspaper- When Farmers Die? Series by P. Sainath (The Hindu); Photo Journalism-How to End Poverty? James Nachtwey (Time). International Swimming Hall of Fame: Tom Dolan of the United States

Manual International UN Population Award: Dr Halida Hanum Ahter from Bangladesh. The other winner is the Foundation Pour las Sante Reporductive e l’Education Familiale, A Haiti-based private, non-profi t organization. Knowledge

ICCC Annual Awards 2006: 11 persons for their outstanding achievements in business, science and humanitarian work. King Faisal Award: Mr M. S. Narsimhan of India, an honorary fellow at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Laureus World Sports Awards: Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer. Knowedge General Magsaysay Awards 2006: Six Asian achievers, including the founding chair of the Philippine daily Inquirer,

received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, also known as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize — at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on 31 August 2006. The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1957 in honour of the memory and leadership example of the former Philippine president who died in a plane crash. The 2006 awardees are: Mr Kejriwal, Arvind (Indian) – for Emergent Leadership; Mr Ek Sonn Chan (Cambodia) – for Government Service; Mr Park Won Soon (Korea) – for Public Service; Gawad Kalinga Concise General

Community Development Foundation (Based in the Philippines) – for Community Leadership; Mr Meloto, Antonio (The Philippines) – for Community Leadership; Mr Apostol, Eugenia Duran (The Philippines) – for Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts; Mr Ruit, Sanduk (Nepal) – for Peace and International Understanding. Man Booker Prize 2006: The Inheritance of loss (by Ms Kiran Desai of India) Miss Earth 2005: Alexandra Braun Waldeck (Venezuela). Miss Fire: Jovana Marjanovic (Serbiaand Pearson Pearson

Montenegro)Miss Water : Katarzyna Borowicz (). Miss Air : Amell Santana (). Mr Honoured by Australia: Former Attorney General of India Mr Soli Sorabjee for his The The contribution to strengthen legal relations between New Delhi and Canberra (Australia).

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Miss World 2006: Miss Tatane Kucharova (Czech Rep); 1st Runner-up: Miss Ioana Valentina Boitor (Romania); 2nd Runners-up: Miss Salorina Houssami (Australia) 2006: Ms Mendoza () Ist Runner up – Ms Kurara Chibana (Japan) IInd Runner – Ms Lauriane Gillieron (Switzerland) Mrs World 2006: Mrs Russia Sofi a Arzhakovaskaya. No Russian had won it before this contest. MTV Legend Award, 2006 : Pop star Michael Jackson. Millennium Technology Prize: Prof. Suji Nakamura of the University of . 2006 Nobel Prize Winners The Nobel Prizes are considered the most esteemed awards for scholarly triumphs. Established by Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel, they were fi rst awarded in 1901. The prizes were originally given in five categories: chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. In 1969, the fi rst prize in economics was awarded. Over the years, more than 780 individuals and organizations have been awarded a Nobel Prize. The International Committee of the Red Cross is the most honoured recipient, with three Peace Prizes; its founder, Henri Dunant, was co-winner of the fi rst Peace Prize in 1901. Four individuals- John Bardeen, Marie Curie, Linus Pauling, and Frederick Sanger-have won two Nobel Prizes. The winners of 2006 in their respective category are: Chemistry: Roger D. Kornberg (“for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription”) Economics: Edmund S. Phelps (“for his analysis of intertemporal tradeoffs in macroeconomic policy”) Literature: Orhan Pamuk (“who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city [Istanbul] has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures”) Peace: Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank (“for their efforts to create economic and social development from below”) Physics: John C. Mather and George F. Smoot (“for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation”) Physiology or Medicine: Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello (“for their discovery of RNA interference-gene silencing by double-stranded RNA”) International and Millennium Award-2005: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and chief of main opposition Awami League- ; veteran Bollywood actor-; melody queen-Lata Mangeshkar. 2007

NASA’s Ambassadors of Exploration Award: Mr Neil Armstrong. Olof Palme Prize: Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar)

Pearl S. Buck Woman of the Year Award 2006: Ms , wife of US President Mr George Bush, awarded for her active involvenent in issues of national and international concerns, especially human rights, education and health-care. Manual

2007 PEN Award: Author Philip Roth.

Pulitzer Prize 2006 Journalism : Public Service: Two prizes: The Sun Herald; The Times-Picayune. Breaking News Reporting: Staff of The Times-Picayune. Investigative Reporting: Susan Schmidt, James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith of The Washington Post

Manual Explanatory Reporting: David Finkel of The Washington Post. Beat Reporting: Dana Priest of The Washington Post. Knowledge

National Reporting: James Risen and Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times; Staffs of The San Diego Union Tribune and Copley News Service. International Reporting:Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley of The New York Times Feature Writing: Jim Sheeler of the Rocky Mountain News. Commentary: Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times. Knowedge General Editorial Writing: Rick Attig and Doug Bates of The Oregonian.

Editorial Cartooning: Mike Luckovich of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Breaking News Photography : Staff of the Dallas Morning News. Feature Photography: Todd Heisler of the Rocky Mountain News. Letter & Drama Fiction: March by Geraldine Brooks. Concise General

History: Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky. Biography: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Poetry: Late Wife by Claudia Emerson. General Non-fi ction: Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya by Caroline Elkins. Pearson Pearson

Music: Piano Concerto: Chiavi in Mano by Yehudi Wyner. Special Citations & Awards The The Special Citations: Edmund S. Morgan; Thelonious Monk.

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Right Livelihood Awards 2006 : (Known as ‘Alternative Nobels’) Ms Ruth (India), Chico Whitaker (Brazil), Daniel Ellesberg (USA) and the International Poetry Festival of Medellin (Columbia) Franscisco Toledo, Mexico’s greatest living artists and community philanthropists; Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke from Canada, Irene Fernandez from Malaysia, and the organisation First People of the Kalahari, and its founder Roy Sesana, from . The award honours pioneers for justice, fair trade and cultural renewal. Second Highest French National Award: Ms Raja M. Kausalya Devi, the Honorary Counsel for in Chennai (Tamil Nadu). Seoul Peace Prize 2006: Prof. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Stockholm Water Prize 2006: Professor Asit K. Biswas (67), an Indian-born Canadian citizen, for his multi- faceted contribution to global water resource issues, including research, education and awareness, water management, and human and international relations in both developed and developing countries. UN Correspondents Association Award 2005: Siddharth Varadarajan, Dy. Editor of The Hindu. UN Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The award has just been created and fi rst time is given to the king of Thailand. UNESCO Peace Education Award: Sri Lankan judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, former Vice- president of the International Court of Justic (ICJ) in the Hague for peace education. UNESCO Peace Prize: Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, co-founder of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize 2006: Mr V. Anandesangaree, President of TULF (Tamil Nadu Liberation Front), for promotion of Tolerance and Nonviolance. US Award: The legendary Bollywood musician duo of Kalyanji-Anandji has become the fi rst Indians to be awarded by the Broadcasting Media Inc. (BMI) a body associated with copyrights in the US. US Presidential Medal of Freedom: Muhammad Ali. Whitebread Prize: The Accidental, a novel by Ali Smith (Scotland). Whitley Award: Suprabha Seshan, working in the Western for her commitment to protecting and 2007

propagating some of India’s rarest and most unique plant. Wisden Cricketer of the Year: Glenn McGrath (Australia).

World Citizenship Awards 2006: (by UNCA-United Nations Correspondent’s Association) award to Bill Clinton for his outstanding efforts to rebuild communities in many countries after Asia Tsunami. World Press Feedom Prize, 2006: A Lebanese television journalist Ms Mai Chidiac. Manual

2007 World Women and Sports Trophy: Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina.

WTA ‘Newcomer of the Year’ Award: Indian Tennis star Sania Mirza. Seoul Peace Prize: Mark Persaud, Chairman & Chief Executive Offi cer of UN Public Service Award 2006: Govt. of Karnatka, Revenue Deptt. (India) for “Online delivery of land records.”

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BOOKS AND AUTHORS

A Call to Honour-In Service of Emergent India Jaswant Singh A Life Less Ordinary Baby Haldar AB – The Legend Pradeep Chandra Alentejo Blue Monica Ali Arnold and Me: In the shadow of the Austrian Oak Barbare Outland Baker : 6 December 1992 P.V. Narasimha Rao Nama Dilip Hiro Bhagat Singh – Ek Jeevni Jitendranath Sanyal Black Swan Green David Mitchell Blind Faith Sagarika Ghose Blood Brothers: A Family Saga M.J. Akbar Born Again Dr Walter Semkiw Brideless in Wembley Sanjay Suri Budha’s Warriors Mikel Dunbam Bush in Babylon Tariq Ali MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 127 Cell: A Novel Stephen King Contested Transformations Mary E. John, Praveen Kumar Jha and Surinder S. Jodhka Delhi Is Not Far: A Novel

Development and Nationhood: Essays in the Dipankar Gupta Political Economy of South Asia Discovery of Sanskrit treasures Prof. Vrat Sahatri Drowned and Dammed-Colonial Capitalism and Rohan D’ Souza 2007

fl ood control in Eastern India Empowering Society and Usha Jumani

Corporate Social Responsibility Firefl y: A Fairytale Ritu Beri Freedom in Exile Dalai Lama

Manual From Surprise to Victory Gen V. P. Malik 2007 Funny Side Up Ruskin Bond Gaddar Kaun? Nawaz Sharif Global Constitution: World Under One Rule M. T. Abraham Globalization and After Samir Dasgupta, Ray Kiely God’s Little Soldier Guiding Soul- Dialogues on Purpose of Life Ji Peng Manual

Hacks and Headlines Rashme Sehgal

Knowledge Hindu Under Siege-The way out Subrammaniam Swamy Home Kapur How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life Kaavya Viswanathan Human Devolution-A vedic alternative to Michael A. Cremo Darwin Theory I Too Had a Dream Verghese Kurien Knowedge General Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny Prof. Amartya Sen

Impossible Allies C. Raja Mohan Impulses Kumu Bhatnagar In the line of Fire-A Memdir Pervez Musharaf India Agriculture in the New Millennium N.A. Majumdar and Uma Kapila Indian Power Sector: Challenges and Response R.V. Sethi Concise General Indian Summers John Wright

Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai Inspite of the Gods Edward Luce Iran Awakening: AMemoir of Revolution and Hope Shirin Ebadi Iron Harvest C. P. Surendran Kargil : From Surprise to Victory General V.P. Malik Pearson Pearson King Leopold’s Soliloquy Mark Twain

Learning to Forget – The Anti-Memoirs K. G. Joglekar of Modernity The The Londonistan Melanie Phillips

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Londonstani Gautam Malkani Mandela, Mobutu, and Me Lynne Duke: A Newswoman’s African Journey Maximum City Suketu Mehta Memories of a Rationalist (Autobiography) Vasant Sathe Mistress Mother’s Milk: A Novel Edward St. Aubyn My Father’s Rifl e: A Childhood in Kurdistan Hiner Saleem Myth=Mithya: A Hord book of Hindu Mythology Devdutt Pattanaik Myths of The Nation-National Identity and Rumina Sethi Literacy Representation Negotiating Peace in Sri Lanka Kumar Rupesinghe Out of My Comfort Zone Steve Waugh Partition Dialogues- Memories of a Lost Home Alok Bhatia Past and Present-Ethnoarcheology in India Gautam Sengupta, Suchira Roy Choudhury and Sujit Som Pele-The Autobiography Pele Perilous Passage Post-Moderm Gandhi and other Essays: Gandhi in the world and at Home Loyad I. Rudolf and Sujan H. Rudolf Red Irwin Reverse Sweep : Confessions of a Cricket Junkie Gautam Bhimani Routine Violence Gyanendra Pandey Roy: Going for Broke Andrew Symonds Sacred Games Vikaram Chandra Scarred: Experiments with Violence in Gujarat Dionne Bunsha SRK: Still Reading Khan Mushtaq Sheikh

Tales of the Open Road Ruskin Bond Terrorist John Updike The Crisis of Secular-Nationalism in India Aditya Nigam

2007 The Google Story David A. Vise The Great Liberation A. Avalon The Greatness Guide Robin Sharma The Horseshoe Chinmaya R. Gharekhan The Illustrated History of Indian Cricket Boria Mazumdar The Kapoors: The First Family of Indian Cinema Madhu jain Manual 2007

The Last Mughal: The fall of a dynasty, (Delhi, 1857) William Dalrymple

The Last Pope Luis Miguel Rocha The Match Romesh Gunesekera The Moonlit Cage Linda Holeman The Revenge of Gaia James Lovelock The Secret River Kate Grenville

Manual The Sword in the Soul George Olakoor The True face of Jehadis: Inside Pakistan’s Amir Mir Knowledge

Network of Terror The Years of Yes Maria Headley Tomorrow’s India: Another Tyrst with Destiny B.G. Verghese Touchplay Dev Sukumar Under Orders Dick Francis Under the Empire: India’s New Foreign Policy Ninah Koshi Knowedge General

Ve Sharm Se Hindu Kahate Hain Kyon? Singaria Weight Loss

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IMPORTANT ABBREVIATIONS

AARDO: Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization; ACHR: Asian Centre for Human Rights; ADR/GDR: American Depository Receipt/Global Depository Receipt; ADS: Air Defence Ship; AEP:ASSOCHAM Eco Pulse; AIDWA: The All India Women’ Association; APEDA: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority; APIS: Advance Passenger Information System; ARDS: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome; ART:Anti Retroviral Therapy; ASER: Annual Survey of Education Report; ASHA:Accredited Social Health Activists; ASMA: Antarctica Specially Managed Area; AUDF: Assam United Democratic Front; AVES: Acute Viral Encephalitis Syndrome; BEE: Bureau of Energy Effi ciency; BFAT: Bogie Flat Arjun Tank; BRGF: Backward Regions Grant Fund; BRPSE Board of Reconstr-uction of Public Sector Enterprises; BVR: Beyond Visual Range CAC:Capital Account Convertibility; CAPA:Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation

CCEA:Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs; CDM:Clean Development Mechanism; CECA: Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement; 2007

CFTRI: The Central Food Technological Research Institute ; CIC: Chief Information Commissioner;

CITES: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species; CLEVER: Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport; COAI: Cellular Operators’ Association of India;

Manual CPR:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; 2007 CRY: Child Rights and You; CTS: Cheque Truncation System; DIN:Director Identifi cation Number; DLP: Digital Light Processor (It is a chip that makes digital projection possible); DOART: Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting Technology; DTAA: Douple Taxation Avoidance Agreement; Manual

DVD: Digital Versatile Disc;

Knowledge EADS: European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company; EEPC: The Engineering Export Promotion Council; FDCI: Fashion Design Council of India; FSSA: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India; FTA: Free Trade Agreement; GAGAN: GPS Aided Geo-Augmented Navigation; Knowedge General GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council;

GCM: General Court Martial; GCMMF: Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation; GeSCI: Global-e- School and Communities Initiative; GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System; HEMRL: High Energy Materials Research Laboratory; Concise General IAASB: International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board;

IAI: Institute of Actuaries of India; IBAC: International Business Advisory Council; ISB: Indian School of Business; ICDS Integrated Child Development Services; IFAC:International Federation of Accountants; Pearson Pearson IFPRI:The International Food Policy Research Institute;

IGCAR: Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research; IIFC: Indian Infrastructure Finance Corporation; The The IISER: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research;

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INTACH: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage; IRDA: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority; ISKCON: International Societfor Krishna Consciousness; ITER: International Thermonuclear ExperimentalReactor; IWMI:The International Water Management Institute; JAA: Jal Adhikar Abhiyan; JIC: Joint Intelligence Committee; JNNURM: Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission; JWP: Jamhoori Watan Party; KBK: Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput; KVK: Krishi Vigyan Kendras; LAWASIA: Law Association for Asia and the Pacific; MAPIN: Market Participants’ and Investors’ Identification Number; MGMI: Mining, Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India Mini SAR& M3 Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar and Moon Mineralogy Mapper; NAECL: National Authority on Elimination of Child Labour; NAIP: National Agricultural Innovation Project; NALSA:The National Legal Services Authority; NAMA: Non-Agricultural Market Access; NASDORA: National Authority for Sustainable Development of Rainfed Areas; NCLP:National Child Labour Projects; NDMA: National Disaster Management Authority; NEIA: National Export Insurance Account; NFIW: The National Federation of Indian Women;

NFO: New Fund Offers; NICD:National Institute of Communicable Diseases; NIFTEM: National Institute of Food Technologist;

2007 NLFT: National Liberation Front of Tripura; NMCC:National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council; NMI: National Manufacturing Initiative; NNN:NAM News Network; NREGA: National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; NSAID: Non-Steroidal Anti-Infl ammatory Drug; Manual 2007

NUTP: National Urban Transport Policy;

OARE: Online Access to Research in the Environment; OPV: Oral Polio Vaccine; PCPIRs: Petroleum and Petrochemical Investment Regions; PIPFPD: Pakistan-India Forum for Peace and Democracy; PMLA: Prevention of Money Laundering Act;

Manual PSK: Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh; RAW: Research and Analysis Wing; Knowledge

RCH: Reproductive and Child Health; REMF: Real Estate Mutual Funds; REMIND: Reliable Extraction and Meaningful Inference from Non-structured Data; RNTCP: Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme; RSVY: Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana; SAARC: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation; Knowedge General

SACON: Centre for Ornithology and Natural; SACU: South African Customs Union; SAFTA: South Asian Free Trade Area; SATNAV: Satellite Navigation Initiative; SCO: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; SIMI: Students Islamic Movement of India; Concise General

SPA: Seven Party Alliance; SRE: Space Capsule Recovery Experiment; SSS: Subordinate Statistical Service; STEREO: Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory; SWAP: Solar Wind Around Pluto; TAPP: Tarapur Atomic Power Project; Pearson Pearson

TERI: The Energy and Resources Institute; UNCSD: United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development; UNDOF: The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force; The The

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UNESCAP: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacifi c; UNIFIL: United Nationals Interim Force in Lebanon; UNIFIL:United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon; USOF: Universal Service Obligation Fund; WCCB: Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

2007

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